Man, 23, Arrested In Fatal Stabbing Of Stepfather On Christmas Morning
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A 23-year-old Los Angeles man accused of fatally stabbing his stepfather in the back on Christmas morning was arrested on suspicion of murder, police said.
Nery Ambrosio, 54, was stabbed once with some type of power tool in a bedroom of the family's home in the neighborhood of Watts, said Los Angeles police Sgt. Shannon Hale.
Hale said the stepson woke up and got into a "strange argument" with his mother around 11 a.m. when she said she didn't know where his baseball bat was. He began to "assault her" and when Ambrosio tried to defend her, the stepson pushed him to the ground, grabbed a nearby tool and stabbed him, police said. Ambrosio was apparently stabbed only once, but fell back onto the tool, pushing it through his body.
A stepdaughter and a neighbor called 911.
Ambrosio was pronounced dead at the hospital. He'd been with the mother for the last 20 years, police said.
Hale said the man claimed to suffer from an unknown mental illness, though it's unclear whether he's been clinically diagnosed.
That was one of two homicides Los Angeles police reported contending with Christmas Day. Nearly six hours later and about 2.5 miles away, officers were called to the scene of a drive-by shooting.
A 25-year-old woman visiting family in South Los Angeles for Christmas was shot in the head as a car drove by, Hale said.
The shooting occurred in front of multiple relatives while the woman was in the front yard of the family home. Hale said the woman was visiting from Pomona and had no criminal history or gang ties. She appeared to be an innocent bystander of possible gang activity.
Police do not have any information on suspects.
"It's been crazy," Hale said Wednesday evening. "You wouldn't think it. But every Christmas, we're shaking our heads."
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