2 Women Die, 1 Injured in Knife Attacks

Santa Barbara police said Sunday they believe one man stabbed two women to death and seriously injured a third in a string of nighttime attacks this weekend near Anacapa Street, a busy downtown retail and tourist strip.

The victims were repeatedly stabbed in the face and neck with a knife the size of a butcher or hunter’s knife, police said.

“We believe one man committed these attacks,” said Sgt. David Hybert. “They all occurred within hours of each other and all three were stabbed with a large-bladed knife.”

The stabbings are the first killings this year in the affluent coastal city, Hybert said.

No Suspect

Virginia Aceves, 55, of Montecito and Nancy Jean Croom, 47, of Santa Barbara were killed in the attacks. The injured woman, Kimi Hansel, 21, of Santa Barbara, was in serious but stable condition Sunday at St. Francis Hospital in Santa Barbara, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Police said they had no suspect Sunday, but questioned a recent prison escapee, Wayne R. Noe, 23, who was arrested in downtown Santa Barbara late Saturday night, one week after he escaped from the California Men’s Colony near San Luis Obispo. He was being held without bail Sunday at Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of escape.

Noe was serving a life plus 12-year sentence for a series of crimes including kidnaping, robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, police said.

“He is the only person we have questioned and detectives don’t have him connected to the attacks,” Hybert said.

Hansel, the injured victim, was walking home about 9:30 p.m. Friday from a video store on Anacapa Street when she was attacked and dragged into an alley. She was not carrying a purse.

Aceves apparently heard screaming nearby and ran to find out what was happening. The suspect grabbed Aceves’ purse and stabbed her to death, Hybert said.

While Aceves was under attack, a friend of Hansel’s who was riding his bike to meet her, witnessed the stabbing and telephoned police.

“The suspect saw him and fled,” said Sgt. Michael Warren. “While he was on the phone he noticed his friend lying in the alley 50 feet away.”

About 10 blocks away, Croom’s body was found Saturday morning beneath a hydraulic car lift at an Anacapa Street automobile repair shop. Police believe she was kidnaped Friday night from the steps of Second Baptist Church, a block away from where her body was found. Croom also had been stabbed in the head and neck.

Because two of the women’s purses had been stolen police theorize that robbery may have been the motive in the attacks.