Woman Charged In Fatal Stabbing Of South Whittier Mother Of 5
WHITTIER (CBSLA.com) — Deputies arrested a 28-year-old woman Saturday in connection with the fatal stabbing of a South Whittier woman.
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Vanessa Rebecca Cella was charged with robbery and the murder of 31-year-old Michelle Alexis Young.
KCAL9's Cristy Fajardo spoke with Johnny Estrada, who was a close friend and roommate of the victim.
Estrada said Young was a struggling mother of five, yet a beautiful person. Her husband had custody of their children, but she was doing everything in her power to get them back.
"I sat out here for two hours praying it wasn't her," Estrada said.
Authorities said the deadly incident happened in the 11500 block of Obert Avenue about 10:30 p.m. Friday.
When deputies arrived to the scene they found paramedics treating Young for multiple stab wounds. She was later pronounced dead at the scene.
"There was a male witness that was at the location," said Deputy Ryan Rouzan. "He stated that he saw there was a victim and another female that got into an altercation, at which point the second female pulled out a knife and stabbed her multiple times."
According to detectives, Cella and Young had never met before last night. Deputies detained the suspect for questioning a few blocks from the crime scene.
The circumstances leading up to the fatal stabbing, however, remain under investigation.
Authorities were seen towing a pickup truck with Arizona license plates from the scene on Saturday evening, but would not reveal it's involvement in the case.
According to deputies, Cella is being held on $1 million at the Century Regional Detention Facility.
Anyone with information about this case was asked to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.