LONG BEACH : 2 Murders Prompt Warning to Lock Doors, Windows
Long Beach police Tuesday warned residents, especially senior citizens, to lock their doors and windows in the wake of two murders that occurred during burglaries in the last two weeks.
The most recent slaying was last Thursday. Farrell Hodge, 79, was killed and his house ransacked in the 1400 block of East 10th Street, said Long Beach police spokeswoman Karen Kerr.
On July 10, Nellie Taylor, 77, was found dead on the living room floor of her apartment in the 1800 block of Appleton Street, about two miles from Hodge’s residence, Kerr said.
Both victims had been strangled, police said.
Kerr cautioned all residents, not only older people, to lock doors and windows, not allow strangers into their homes and avoid walking alone.
“If you do have someone that you don’t recognize and they want to come in, they’re claiming to be a delivery person or something like that, check ID and make sure that it is someone that is supposed to be there,” she said.
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