El Cajon
A 24-year-old man is being sought for questioning in the Wednesday night slaying of his estranged wife and the abduction of their infant daughter, El Cajon Police Department Spokeswoman Kim Lungwitz said.
Police are seeking Celestino Martinez Mendoza of the 400 block of 37th Street in San Diego on suspicion of murder and child stealing, Lungwitz said.
According to Lungwitz, Mendoza went to the residence of his estranged wife, Magdelena Lopez Martinez, 25, on Sunshine Street in El Cajon where the couple quarreled in the driveway, according to witnesses.
He then took their 7-month-old daughter, Laura, and fled.
Police found the woman lying in the driveway with stab wounds to the upper torso. Paramedics rushed her to Sharp Memorial Hospital where she died a short time later, Lungwitz said.
Martinez was last seen driving a silver 1987 Toyota pickup truck with the license plate 3J76157.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
