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# Murder-suicide in front of Santa Monica City Hall
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/murder-suicide-in-front-of-santa-monica-city-hall/
- Published: 2002-09-30T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T00:45:47.000Z
- Author: Carolyn Sackariason
- Tags: Crime, Santa Monica, #archive-import, Homeless

*Second murder-suicide incident in two weeks*

A domestic dispute turned deadly Saturday after a man fatally stabbed a woman before killing himself in front of City Hall with their 6-year-old son present.

At 9:50 a.m., Santa Monica police officers who were in the parking lot of City Hall heard screams from a woman who was walking with her son and a domestic violence counselor to the police station for a court-ordered visitation with the father.

“As the officer was putting out the call for assistance, he saw that he had stabbed her and then himself,” said Santa Monica Police Lt. Frank Fabrega. “We had immediate response.”

The woman, who was taken to a local hospital and died shortly after, had been stabbed in the upper stomach. The man had stabbed himself several times in the upper stomach and died at the scene.

By 11 a.m., SMPD detectives were investigating the scene and interviewing witnesses. The incident reportedly took place in front of hundreds of homeless people who were milling about the lawn in front of City Hall waiting for food — a volunteer group conducts a public feeding program at the location each Saturday.

The food line was moved to the front of lawn of the Santa Monica Courthouse, which is located next to City Hall and the police station. Roy Livingston, who was at City Hall for the food line, said he witnessed the incident.

“She got out of the car and this guy freaked out and went ballistic,” he said. “He took out a knife and started stabbing his old lady.”

> “She got out of the car and this guy freaked out and went ballistic. He took out a knife and started stabbing his old lady.” — — ROY LIVINGSTON Witness

Livingston said he wanted to help, but the situation appeared too dangerous.

“I didn’t want to jump in and get myself killed,” he said. “He looked at her and realized what he had done and he started stabbing himself.”

Apparently the couple, who were estranged, had set up a meeting at the police station for a child visitation transfer.

The identities of the victim and the suspect haven’t been released pending notification of their families. The victim is described as a Hispanic female, 21, of Santa Clarita. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male, 27, of West Los Angeles.

The man’s body was removed by the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office before noon. Dozens of passersby noticed that the south side of the City Hall lawn was taped off and white plastic draped over the man, who was lying in the southwest corner of the lawn. The woman’s purse and other belongings were lying on the ground just a few feet away next to the sidewalk that leads to the police station.

The Robbery/Homicide Unit of the Santa Monica Police Department is handling the investigation. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call (310) 458.8451.

This is the second murder-suicide incident in Santa Monica in two weeks. On Sept. 15, a Santa Monica man shot and killed his wife and then fatally shot himself in their apartment at 909 Euclid Ave. Santa Monica police were called to the scene after the daughters of the couple found their parents dead in the living room. Neighbors say the couple fought incessantly.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/093002-02_01.jpg)

Santa Monica police officers and detectives investigate the scene of a murder-suicide that occurred Saturday morning in front of City Hall. (Photo: Carolyn Sackariason/Daily Press)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 30, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/093002.pdf?ref=smdp.com)