Youth Charged With Slaying Woman in Apartment Break-In

A 17-year-old youth was charged Tuesday with the Aug. 29 slaying of Cynthia Sue Monnier, 27, who was found stabbed to death in a common courtyard near her apartment in Orange, police said.

The youth, whose name was withheld because of his age, apparently crawled through an open bathroom window into Monnier’s apartment at 2082 N. Lincoln St. and tried to burglarize the residence when the woman confronted him about 5 a.m., said Police Sgt. Lou Walsh.

Monnier was stabbed once in the heart outside the apartment and died while pounding on a neighbor’s door screaming for help, police said.

There were no signs Monnier was sexually assaulted and nothing appeared to have been taken from the apartment, Walsh said.

The youth, who lives in the same apartment complex, was arrested Saturday morning, but investigators did not announce the arrest until Tuesday because they were still collecting evidence, Walsh said. Murder and burglary charges were filed Tuesday.

The suspect is also being linked to several recent burglaries in the area, Walsh said. Investigators have not been able to locate the weapon used in the slaying, he said, and the youth made no statements to investigators. Walsh declined to elaborate on what evidence authorities may have linking the suspect to Monnier’s slaying.

The suspect is being held without bail in Juvenile Hall.