2 Slayings at CityWalk Under Investigation

Sheriff’s deputies Monday were trying to sort out the confusing killing 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 was the son of one of the dead women, and 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 a stab wound 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 too sedated to be questioned, they said.

All those known to be involved lived in two apartments two doors apart in a North Hollywood building. The man, his girlfriend and 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 female 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 he had lost consciousness, and when he came to he found the two women severely injured, a deputy said. He said he did not see the actual attack, the deputy said.

The guards found Carasi’s 61-year-old mother, Doris Carasi, and Sonia Salinas, 29, in a pool of blood near their car parked on the roof of the CityWalk garage, just 100 yards from a sheriff’s substation. They had been repeatedly stabbed, said Sheriff’s Sgt. Sam Muniz, who called it “a very brutal murder.”

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

“It looked to police like somebody had just placed little Michael 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 alongside the Hollywood Freeway between Victory and Oxnard boulevards, discovered Donna Lee, 33, with a seriously slashed stomach. Lee had also 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,” Ducoulombier added.

The slashed woman was taken to Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, where she was listed in fair condition, a hospital spokesman said. She was later transferred to another hospital.

Paul Carasi was released after being questioned by sheriff’s investigators and given custody of his son. He is not a suspect, deputies said.

Paul Carasi and the slashed woman lived together in a North Hollywood apartment complex, other residents of the complex said, just two doors from an apartment shared by Doris Carasi, Salinas and Salinas’ son by Paul Carasi.

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

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

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

Neighbors said they hugged the family, and that 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 40-year-old neighbor who asked not to be identified said that three weeks ago, Doris Carasi got into a fight with Lee, objecting to them living together. Doris Carasi hit Lee on the head with her keys, he said.

Officials at MCA Inc., which owns CityWalk--a sanitized 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 in cars patrol every corridor of the parking structures at 15-minute intervals.

However, he said, the double killing occurred in a “blind spot” in the middle of a wing of the northern corner of the top floor of the five-story parking 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 on Monday seemed unfazed by the incident.

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

“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, as she sipped espresso at Cafe Puccino with her friend, Kozeta Koja.

Both women, visiting the United States on a vacation from their native Albania, reacted to the crime as an example of American violence. “We were scared before coming here,” Hanku said. Koja noted, however: “We have murders in Albania, too.”

Employees said the slayings demonstrate 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. “When something like this happens you wonder how safe it is.”

Sunday’s slayings also renewed safety concerns among neighbors who oppose plans to expand the Universal City complex. Opponents in the past have expressed worries about violence, citing gang fights at CityWalk.

“While this particular incident seems different from prior incidents which have caused alarm in the community, one certainly has to wonder about overall security at CityWalk and what might loom ahead with the expansion,” said Tony Lucente, president of Studio City Residents Assn.

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