Chumash Leader Held in Slaying of Companion
A cultural leader of the Chumash Indians was arrested after he confessed to killing his longtime companion, sheriff’s officials said.
Antonio Pina Romero Sr. was booked for investigation of murder and was being held without bail Sunday at the county jail in Santa Barbara.
Romero, 72, went to a sheriff’s substation Friday night and told deputies he had just shot Linda K. Patterson, with whom he had three children, according to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Detective Phil Willis. She was slain in their car on a remote road.
Patterson, 35, was a chip counter at the 10-week-old Santa Ynez Indian Casino outside Solvang.
Romero is the historian of the Santa Ynez Indian Reservation and a Chumash spiritual adviser. He also is a high-profile advocate of the Chumash culture, and taught classes on Chumash traditions for 30 years at museums, camps and schools.
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