Man killed with wooden stool after choking homeowner’s stepdaughter

Los Angeles County sheriff’s homicide detectives are considering whether to arrest a man who killed his friend with a wooden stool after he had an “inappropriate” relationship with the man’s stepdaughter and tried to kill her when confronted about it.

The drama unfolded in the middle of the night in the 4500 block of Adenmoor Avenue in Lakewood Sunday, when authorities say a homeowner and friend were visiting in Lakewood when the friend was confronted about an alleged “inappropriate” relationship with the homeowner’s 20-year-old stepdaughter a few days earlier.

The friend became angry and forced his way into the stepdaughter’s bedroom and tried to strangle her, authorities said.

Relatives tried to stop the man but couldn’t, Deputy Amber Smith said. So the girl’s stepfather grabbed a wooden stool and hit his friend twice, forcing the man to stagger out of the home and collapse, officials said. He was rushed to a local hospital where he died.

The girl’s stepfather was interviewed at the scene but has not been placed under arrest and no charges have been filed. Investigators will have to determine if the stepfather should be arrested for a crime and if his stepdaughter was a victim through her alleged relationship with his friend, Smith said.

This is the first homicide within a mile of Sunday’s incident in at least a year, according to the Homicide Report.

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