South Bay : 3 Sought in Slaying During Beach Holdup

Manhattan Beach police searched Monday for three men suspected of robbing a couple as they strolled on the beach early Sunday morning and then chasing the couple down as they tried to flee, stabbing the man to death and wounding his girlfriend.

Christopher Dewayne Barreto, 25, of Culver City, was tackled and stabbed repeatedly as he lay in the sand after handing over money and jewelry to the robbers about 2:40 a.m., police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

His 22-year-old girlfriend, of Huntington Beach, was stabbed in the stomach but ran and flagged down a patrol car. She was in good condition Monday at a hospital, police said. For her protection, police declined to release her name.

Sgt. Dave Ferguson said a sweep of the beach at the crime scene, about three blocks south of the Manhattan Beach Pier, yielded some evidence.

The killers, described as three males in their late teens or early 20s, were last seen driving north on Manhattan Avenue in what witnesses described as a beat-up, medium-sized white or light-gray car.