Diamond Bar Slaying May Be Latest in Series

A Diamond Bar man was shot to death and his wife assaulted in their bedroom early Thursday, apparently the latest victims in a countywide series of slayings that have sparked one of the largest law enforcement mobilizations since the infamous Hillside Strangler case in the late 1970s.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block said investigators from six area police agencies believe they have linked at least six or seven killings since May to the same person--a curly haired man with discolored teeth who sneaks through unlocked windows and doors before dawn to attack his victims as they sleep.

Block said the slayings are among about 25 random assaults, including 12 or 13 killings, that may have been committed this year by the one man.

‘A Killer Out There’

“There’s definitely a killer out there,” Block said at a press conference in his office. “Six or seven cases appear to be pretty clearly the work of the same individual. . . . Whether we’re talking about a serial killer beyond the half-dozen or so, we don’t know.”

The series of slayings, in which victims have been shot, stabbed and bludgeoned, is being investigated by a task force of about 25 detectives, according to acting Arcadia Police Chief Neal Johnson. Arcadia is participating in the effort, along with the Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles, Glendale, Monrovia and Monterey Park police departments, Block said. Similar killings have occurred in each city in recent months. In some cases, houses have been burglarized; in others, women have been raped. The attacks apparently have been random.

Each department, Block said, has beefed up its street patrols because of the killings.

Authorities identified the latest victims as Elyas Abowath, 35, who was fatally shot, and his wife, Sakina, 28, who was beaten. She was treated at a hospital and released. Their two sons, ages 3 years and 3 months, were not harmed.

Block said the couple were attacked about 4 a.m. as they slept in their house on a cul-de-sac in a quiet neighborhood of $150,000 homes about 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Their assailant apparently entered through an open back or side window.

Poorly Lighted, Unfenced

The house, on Pinehill Lane, was poorly lighted and unfenced, Block said. The couple had lived there for about seven years.

Abowath, who worked in the computer industry, was shot in the head apparently shortly after the killer entered the house. His wife was then assaulted. The slayer “did some ransacking” of the house before leaving, Block said.

Frightened neighbors huddled Thursday morning on the sidewalk in front of the house, watching coroner’s assistants remove Abowath’s body and wondering aloud why their neighborhood had been victimized.

“I thought we had got away from all this,” said one distraught woman, who had moved to the neighborhood only a month ago from the San Gabriel Valley, where at least four killings are believed to have been committed by the same man.

“I keep thinking that if I hadn’t closed the window, it could have been us,” the woman said. “I guess it would be silly to move again. There doesn’t seem to be any way to move away from it.”

Block said that the first of the related homicides may have occurred in the San Gabriel Valley. Since then, calls from citizens to the Sheriff’s Department have increased by “200% to 300%,” Block said. Heightened awareness among residents, as well as additional patrols, may explain why later killings occurred elsewhere, he speculated.

Northridge Attack

One non-fatal attack believed to be related to the slayings took place Tuesday in Northridge, where an intruder awakened a 38-year-old man and his wife and shot both of them in the head at close range with a small-caliber pistol before escaping as the wounded man gave chase.

The couple, Christopher and Virginia Petersen, gave investigators a description of their assailant that was similar to those offered by other survivors and witnesses. The attacker, they said, was 25 to 30 years old, 6 feet tall and 160 pounds with curly brown hair.

Authorities said the killer’s front teeth are badly stained and have a wide gap. The Northridge incident was not linked initially to Thursday’s assault in Diamond Bar. But when pressed by reporters, Block admitted a connection.

“It appears that the person responsible for these acts . . . may be the person involved in similar incidents,” Block said. “In all of the half-dozen of those cases, we have seen similarities that lead us to believe the same person or persons is responsible.”

Specifics Withheld

Despite the similarities, police are puzzled by some characteristics.

“Victims run the gamut in age, from 16 to upper 60s--women living alone, women living together, couples,” Block said. “There does not seem to be a uniformity of any kind in the type of victim.”

Block would not specify which slayings and non-fatal assaults had been linked to one man. To do so, he said “would give people a false sense of security where there have been no attacks and would create hysteria in areas where there have been murders.”

However, investigators theorize that victims may have included:

- William Doi, 65, of Monterey Park, shot to death and his wife assaulted on May 14.

- Mabel Bell, 84, of Monrovia, severely beaten June 2 and who later died. Her sister, Florence Lang, 81, also was badly beaten but survived.

- Patty Elaine Higgins, 32, found dead June 28 in her Arcadia home. Her throat had been slashed.

- Mary Cannon, 75, another Arcadia resident, found dead June 2 in her home with her throat slashed.

- Chainarong Khovanath, 32, shot to death in his Sun Valley home while sleeping. His wife was assaulted and their 8-year-old son beaten. A man was seen driving away in a maroon-colored Pontiac Grand Prix with a damaged right fender.

Block said that based on information investigators now have, chances are slim of solving the killings soon.

Homeowner With Gun

“Unless our investigation strikes a vein of gold, I would suspect that this guy may wind up getting caught by a homeowner with a gun,” the sheriff said.

Detectives assigned to the task force from various police departments are not working out of a central office, but are exchanging information and tips on a regular basis, according to officials.