Search underway for convicted killer who fled from Santa Ana halfway house

The Office of Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer issued a warning to the public Friday afternoon, after learning that an extremely dangerous convicted killer escaped from a halfway house he was assigned to on Wednesday.

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Ike Nicholas Souzer, now 19-years-old, was convicted for fatally stabbing his mother, Barbara Scheuer-Souzer, 47, in May 2017 when he was 13-years-old. 

He was convicted for voluntary manslaughter in June 2019. 

Souzer has already fled from holding in the past, when he escaped from an Orange juvenile hall in 2019 for less than 24 hours, when he was picked up at an Anaheim McDonald's the next day.

He was also convicted in Dec. 2021 for assaulting three correctional officers while in their custody. 

Souzer is said to have cut off the electronic monitoring device, which he was ordered to wear until the completion of his sentence in July 2023. 

He cut the device off within less than an hour of arriving at the halfway house on Wednesday.

Photos of Souzer were distributed to law enforcement across the Southland, as detailed by Garden Grove Police Lieutenant Mario Martinez.

"The fact that he removed his ankle monitor is a concern for everybody," he continued. "We are taking this very seriously."

Back in 2017, Scheuer-Souzer told law enforcement that it was her son who had attacked her, just before she died at a hospital from the wounds she suffered, leading to his conviction. 

He reportedly stabbed her in their Garden Grove residence on May 4, 2017. 

The unprecedented move to release Souzer to a halfway house was reportedly heavily contested by DA Spitzer, who said the move was made by a judge over a year ago, despite his history of violence.

Souzer's sister, Berlin, told CBS reporters, "He has gone through a lot. Mental and physical abuse. He's a troubled teen that needs help."

She continued to note that she didn't believe he was dangerous and that "what he did was self defense" since their mother "beat on him daily."

"He isn't 'extremely dangerous' like every news outlet is saying," Berlin said while speaking with CBS reporters Saturday. "If he was, they wouldn't have let him out of jail. He is Autistic and hasn't been given the correct coping skills throughout incarceration. He was never taught to deal with the problems he encounters."

The statement from OCDA urged residents to avoid Souzer at all costs, and call 9-1-1 immediately upon spotting him.

They warned that he is considered to be "extremely dangerous and violent."