Man Pleads Not Guilty In Murder Of Valley Bride-To-Be
VAN NUYS (CBS) — The man accused of fatally stabbing a bride-to-be inside her Valley Village home last summer pleaded not guilty to murder Tuesday in Van Nuys Superior Court.
Omar Armando Loera, 34, is charged in the July 24 slaying of Cheree Osmanhodzic.
She was killed upon returning home after shopping for a wedding dress with her mother and fiance.
After dropping her off, her fiance immediately left again to go grocery shopping. He returned to discover the suspect inside the home the couple shared in the 11500 block of Riverside Drive and chased him for several blocks before the man got away. When he got back, the house was engulfed in flames.
Los Angeles firefighters found the 34-year-old woman's body inside the residence when they extinguished the blaze.
Loera -- who was charged Sept. 15 with Osmanhodzic's murder -- was turned over to Los Angeles police last October after being arrested in the border town of Mexicali by Mexican authorities.
Along with the murder count, Loera is charged with one count each of burglary, arson and assault with a deadly weapon.
He is due back in court on April 20 for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to require him to stand trial.
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