Anaheim Woman Found Slain; Body Set Afire : Murder: A suspect is arrested after a relative calls police to say he is ‘covered in blood.’ Horrified neighbors discover ex-nurse’s corpse.

A 23-year-old man who allegedly stalked a former nurse to her home, bashed her on the head and then set her on fire on Saturday was arrested hours later when a relative of his called police.

Horrified neighbors found the body of 41-year-old Carol Davila when they doused the small fire with extinguishers. Her killer had severely beaten her on the head with a blunt instrument and then covered her body with paper or cloth, said Anaheim Police Sgt. Chet Barry. He then ignited it and fled.

Davila, the mother of two grown children, lived in the Savanna Villa apartment complex at 838 S. Marian Way, police said.

“It was horrible, really horrible,” said one neighbor, describing the scene. The man, who did not want to be identified, said he had rushed into the apartment with other neighbors, hoping to rescue Davila from the fire but finding her body instead.

Police arrested Thyris Rondale Rodney of Anaheim at a relative’s house 10 hours after Davila’s body was found. Police said one of Rodney’s relatives had tipped police, saying he was “covered in blood.”

Neighbors told police that they had seen Davila returning home Saturday morning about 3:30 a.m. after she visited a relative who lives close to her apartment. As Davila was walking home, witnesses said, they noticed a man who appeared to be following her. When she approached her apartment, the man hid behind bushes nearby.

Later in the morning, neighbors heard a loud commotion coming from Davila’s apartment. But they thought it was a family disturbance or argument.

“They heard some noises or some kind of disturbance, but it was not something unusual,” Barry said. “They stuck their heads out the door and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Later, they heard a smoke alarm and came out. That’s when they saw the flames through the window.”

Witnesses told police they then saw a man run from the apartment. Police say the description of the man matches Rodney.

“Based on the information we have, we feel we have the right guy,” Barry said.

Police say they do not know whether Davila was sexually assaulted nor what instrument was used to kill her.

On Saturday afternoon, the smell of the fire still lingered in the neighborhood. Investigators cordoned off the outside the apartment complex with a yellow police line while a police forensic team was busily checking garbage dumpsters within the complex.

“We all came out to the street to see what was happening,” said Kathie Henderson, a resident in the area. “I heard the neighbors break the windows and then people saying that there was a body in there. This has been awful. “