Slaying of 2 at CityWalk Investigated : Violence: Slashing of third woman nearby is included in inquiry. A butcher knife found near that victim, who lived, is believed to be murder weapon.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were trying Monday to sort out a confusing double killing: the slaying of two women in an extended family who were stabbed to death as they left a Mother’s Day dinner at Universal CityWalk.

A man who is the son of one of the dead women and an ex-boyfriend of the other was cut on the hands in the incident.

The man’s current girlfriend was found on the nearby Hollywood Freeway bleeding from a seriously slashed stomach and from stab wounds in the back, sheriff’s deputies said.

A knife believed used in the slayings and a fanny pack that had belonged to one of the dead women was found near the slashed woman’s car, deputies said, but the woman was hospitalized Monday and was too sedated to be questioned, they said.

All those involved lived in two apartments two doors apart in a North Hollywood building. The man, his girlfriend and his former girlfriend all worked together at a Bank of America branch, according to neighbors and a bank spokesman.

Shortly after 11 p.m. Sunday, Paul Carasi, 30, alerted CityWalk guards that he, his mother and a woman friend had been attacked as they returned to their car from a Mother’s Day dinner at the Country Star restaurant in the amusement park, deputies said.

Carasi, who was cut on the hands, said that he had lost consciousness and that when he came to, he found the two women severely wounded, a deputy reported. Carasi said he did not see the actual attack, according to the deputy. Authorities said Carasi is not a suspect in the case, and no arrests have been made.

The guards found Carasi’s 61-year-old mother, Doris Carasi, and Sonia Salinas, 29, in a pool of blood near their car on the roof of the CityWalk parking structure, just 100 yards from a sheriff’s substation. They had been repeatedly stabbed, said Sheriff’s Sgt. Sam Muniz.

Salinas was Paul Carasi’s former girlfriend and the mother of his 2-year-old son, who was found unharmed in the car next to the bodies, deputies said.

“It looked to police like somebody had just placed [the boy] into the car seat and had strapped him in when the incident occurred,” Sheriff’s Deputy George Ducoulombier said. “I don’t know if the baby was awake or asleep.”

A few minutes later California Highway Patrol officers, responding to a call for help from a call box along the Hollywood Freeway between Victory Boulevard and Oxnard Street, discovered Donna K. Lee, 44, Ducoulombier said. Her stomach had been slashed and she had been stabbed in the back, deputies said.

“She advised them she had been the victim of robbery and had been stabbed,” Ducoulombier said. “But officers started looking in the area and found a fanny pack that belonged to Doris Carasi, and in the general area they also found a large butcher knife. They believe it was the weapon used in the crime,” he added.

Lee was taken to a hospital, where she was listed in fair condition, a hospital spokesman said.

Paul Carasi was released after he was questioned by sheriff’s investigators and given custody of his 2-year-old son.

Paul Carasi and Lee lived together in a North Hollywood apartment, other residents of the complex said, just two doors from a unit shared by Doris Carasi, Salinas and the 2-year-old boy.

Paul Carasi had moved in with Lee about a month ago, neighbors said, while Salinas and their son continued living with Doris Carasi, the building manager.

Paul Carasi, Lee and Salinas all worked for the Bank of America in Los Angeles, a bank spokesman said. He would not say in which office, but neighbors said they worked in the same branch.

Adelina Delgadillo, 31, a resident of the apartment building , said that she saw Paul Carasi, Doris Carasi, Salinas and the boy leaving about 9 p.m. for a Mother’s Day dinner, and that the group looked “happy.” She said Lee did not leave with the group.

Neighbors said Paul Carasi laughed as residents wished Salinas and Doris Carasi a happy Mother’s Day. “They were very happy, as always,” said one woman, who asked not to be identified.

However, a neighbor said that three weeks ago Lee and Doris Carasi got into a fight because Doris Carasi objected to Lee and Paul Carasi living together.

Officials at MCA Inc., which owns CityWalk--a stylized version of a city street with shops, restaurants and entertainment--spent the day trying to determine whether the killings had been captured by a security TV camera.

“The matter is currently under investigation by the Sheriff’s Department, and we are continuing to cooperate in every way,” said Jeff Hobbs, an MCA spokesman. “. . . We are deeply disturbed and saddened by this incident and wish to reassure all concerned that the security and safety of our guests, neighbors and employees are always of the highest priority.”

A source familiar with security at CityWalk said a battery of surveillance cameras constantly scans the entertainment attraction’s walkways and parking facilities. In addition, he said, guards patrol every corridor of the parking structures in cars at 15-minute intervals.

However, he said, the double killing occurred in a “blind spot” on the top floor of the five-story structure.

“It was clearly in a very odd place,” said the source, indicating he thought the killer was aware of the cameras’ locations.

Most CityWalk visitors were taking the killing in stride Monday.

Mike Roland, a Lake Tahoe carpenter, said he was unfazed. “I don’t think anywhere’s really a safe haven from crime,” he said.

“We came to see Hollywood, and we expected to see Hollywood, and the first thing we have is a journalist asking us questions about a murder,” marveled Miranda Hanku, 29, a tourist from Albania.

Employees said the slaying demonstrates how dangerous the area can be when the shops are closing and workers stream into dark parking structures. “Walking to the garage we always have someone with us,” said Margo Bell, 19, a clerk at Dap’s.

Times staff writers Jon Markman and Jeannette DeSantis contributed to this story.