Man Charged in Girlfriend’s Fatal Stabbing

A Granada Hills man has been charged with stabbing and killing his girlfriend in front of the woman’s 11-year-old daughter while the trio was watching airplanes land at Van Nuys Airport, authorities said Wednesday.

The man, Marco Antonio Violante, 40, faces one count of murder and two counts of assault with great bodily injury for the slaying.

Assistant Dist. Atty. Robert Cohen said Violante is accused of stabbing Martha Vasquez 25 times on June 9 while they were parked at the end of Waterman Street, a popular spot to watch planes land at the airport.

Cohen said Vasquez and her daughter went to Violante’s house the day of the killing before driving to Waterman Street.

Police said Violante stabbed Vasquez, 35, after an argument and then kicked her daughter. Vasquez’s daughter, who was sitting in the passenger seat, ran from the car and called for help, said Cohen.

Police arrested Violante an hour later while he sat at a vacant flight school building near the airport, holding a 10-inch butcher knife.

Cohen said Violante, who also used the alias Marco Antonio Martinez, had struck Vasquez during a fight in February. According to police reports, however, when officers arrived at Vasquez’s home she said that Violante was not responsible and no charges were filed against him.

If found guilty of killing Vasquez, Violante faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 22.