2 Arrested in Rape, Slaying of Woman, 19

Two teen-agers were charged Monday with raping and fatally stabbing a 19-year-old Lancaster woman and leaving her body in a dry riverbed, authorities said.

David W. Smith, 19, was charged with murder committed in the course of a rape. The Lancaster teen-ager was also charged with sodomy, forced oral copulation, kidnaping, auto theft and grand theft of personal property, Deputy Dist. Atty. Chesley McKay said. “They stole her money after they killed her,” McKay said. The teen-agers took $9 and an unknown amount of food stamps, he said.

A 16-year-old boy was also arrested in connection with the murder and is expected to face similar charges at Sylmar Juvenile Hall, McKay said. He said he expects the teen-ager to be tried as an adult.

On Sunday, sheriff’s deputies in the Antelope Valley found the body of Tami M. Koby lying in a riverbed near the intersection of 60th Street East and Avenue J in Lancaster. About 3 p.m., the 16-year-old walked into the sheriff’s station in Lancaster and told deputies about the body and where to look for it, sheriff’s spokeswoman Mary Landreth said.

The youth told deputies about Smith, who was arrested later that day. “Smith was acquainted with the victim,” McKay said, adding that she had picked him up in her car about 9 p.m. Saturday.

She was killed between 9 and 11 p.m. Saturday, McKay said.

Authorities would not discuss a motive for the crime.