Man Stabbed to Death by Nighttime Intruder
A Torrance man was stabbed to death shortly before dawn Friday as he struggled with an intruder in his home near the San Diego Freeway, authorities said.
California Highway Patrol officers arrested a Torrance resident in his 20s who was running along the freeway away from the crime scene, but authorities refused to identify the man Friday.
“We are satisfied that he is our suspect,” said Torrance Police Sgt. Ronald Traber.
William Smith, 39, who lived in the 3900 block of West 171st Street with his wife and daughter, died of multiple stab wounds at Little Company of Mary Hospital after the 5:30 a.m. attack. Smith’s death was the first homicide of the year in Torrance, police said. There were seven homicides in the city in 1989 and three in 1988.
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