Lancaster Man Re-Interviewed in Wife’s Slaying

The husband and stepdaughter of a slain corrections officer were re-interviewed Tuesday by police investigators who had “questions about the details” of their eyewitness account of the her freeway slaying, a police spokesman said.

Three days after 40-year-old Lancaster prison officer Elizabeth Begaren was gunned down along the Riverside Freeway, her husband--who has sharply criticized detectives for not investigating the crime solely as a robbery-murder--met with detectives for three hours before rushing away to avoid reporters.

“He showed up, so he’s cooperating,” said Anaheim Police Sgt. Joe Vargas, who stressed that Begaren is not being labeled a suspect. “We hoped to clarify some points, and we did.”

The interview came a day after Nuzzi Begaren of Lancaster said his wife was probably the target of four robbers who followed the family from a Burbank mall and ran them off the road.

Police, however, have launched a broad investigation and are looking into the victim’s personal and professional life for possible leads.

“He may be distraught and upset, but we will do everything we can on this case whether he likes it or not,” Vargas said.

Anaheim police have received numerous tips from the public about the 11:15 p.m. shooting on a freeway ramp at East Street. But detectives admit they are no closer to pinning down a motive, nor do they have witnesses beside Nuzzi and his 10-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, Angelica Begaren.

Police initially said the shooting appeared random but now say they are unsure.

In an interview Monday, Nuzzi Begaren said he was behind the wheel of his family’s blue Kia Sportage when his daughter noticed they were being followed. He repeatedly exited the freeway and tried to shake the pursuers, but the large, dark Oldsmobile ultimately forced them off the road, he said.

With the men approaching, Elizabeth Begaren told her husband, “If we stay in the car, we’ll all die,” according to his account. With that, the prison investigator from California State Prison-Los Angeles County in Lancaster bolted and was shot down after flashing her badge, her husband said. The men fled.

Begaren has said he is “90% sure” his family was targeted during a Saturday evening visit to a Macy’s department store in Burbank, probably because his wife had $4,800 in cash in her purse for an unsuccessful shopping trip.

Nuzzi Begaren “is not a suspect,” nor was he accompanied by an attorney during his Tuesday interview, Vargas said. But he acknowledged that detectives have looked at the Romanian native’s background as a matter of routine.

Detectives are also working with California Department of Corrections investigators for any possible links to Elizabeth Begaren’s work investigating crimes that occur within the prison.

Elizabeth Begaren’s father, Robert Wheat of Apple Valley, said Tuesday night he could not discuss the case at police request, but he was skeptical that the shooting was a random act or simple robbery.

“I think they’re looking in the right direction,” he said, declining to elaborate.

Times staff writer Steve Carney contributed to this report.