Man Sought in Long Beach Shootings Arrested in Santa Ana
A Long Beach man sought in connection with the killing of his estranged wife and the shooting of his stepdaughter was arrested Friday at the home of a friend.
Santa Ana and Long Beach police arrested 46-year-old Iuliu Varciag without incident about 1 a.m. at a house in the 2200 block of South Lowell Street, Long Beach authorities said. He is being held at the Long Beach City Jail on $1 million bail.
Authorities said that Varciag shot Maria Christina Lotrean, 46, his estranged wife, and Vasilicia Annie Chiriac, 26, his stepdaughter, about 1:45 p.m. Thursday at their home in the 2200 block of Belmont Avenue in Long Beach.
A neighbor saw Varciag jump into his red Ford Escort and speed away from the scene, police said.
Lotrean died at the scene, while Chiriac was taken to Long Beach Memorial Hospital and remains in critical condition, Long Beach Police Cpl. Richard Questel said.
Police said Lotrean worked as a real estate broker in Orange County and was married to Varciag in early 1994. Lotrean had the union annulled after she learned that Varciag reportedly already was married to a woman in Romania at the time of his marriage to Lotrean, police said.
Lotrean later was granted a restraining order to keep Varciag from her Long Beach home, police said.
Varciag is to be arraigned Monday, police said.
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