Officials Narrow Probe of Teenagers’ Kidnapping

Investigators narrowed their probe Thursday into the kidnapping and slaying of a 17-year-old Yorba Linda youth and the rape of his girlfriend by combing her abandoned car for clues and focusing on the dilapidated stucco house where authorities said the teenagers were held for three days before the killing.

Chad MacDonald Jr. was found strangled in a South Los Angeles alley this week after visiting the Norwalk home with his 16-year-old girlfriend Sunday, Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators said. As many as three attackers beat the victims and held them captive before killing MacDonald and taking his girlfriend to the Angeles National Forest, where she told authorities she was raped, shot in the jaw and left for dead.

The girl, who managed to flag a passing motorist for help, remained in stable condition late Thursday at County-USC Medical Center, investigators said. Her car was found abandoned outside a Baldwin Park fast-food restaurant late Wednesday, and authorities immediately began searching it for fingerprints and other clues.

Investigators declined to discuss why the Yorba Linda teenagers went to the Norwalk home described by neighbors and law enforcement officials as the site of suspected drug activity and a hangout for gang members. They also refused to discuss a possible motive for the attack or provide any details about what they discovered during a search of the house in the 14800 block of Halcourt Avenue.

“We’re working through all of that now,” said Los Angeles sheriff’s Lt. Don Bear. “We’re pursuing several possible leads on suspects, and we’re guardedly optimistic about wrapping up this case.”

Norwalk public safety officials said they have received frequent complaints about people hanging out at the home, drinking beer outside and playing loud music. Neighbors said people come and go from the house at all hours, and sheriff’s deputies said they have been called to the house six to eight times in the past four years. No one answered the door at the house Thursday.

Any connection MacDonald or his girlfriend may have had to the Halcourt Avenue home or any of its residents remained a mystery to friends and relatives in Yorba Linda.

Tammi Bleu, who shared a class with MacDonald at El Camino Real High School and lives near his girlfriend, described the teenagers as popular and bright.

“He’s really funny and sweet and really nice,” said Bleu, 16. “And [the girl] is really, really nice . . . so sweet, she would never hurt a fly.”

Other friends recalled how MacDonald adored his souped-up white truck. They stopped by his home throughout the day, piling dozens of bouquets of flowers into the bed of his trademark rig.

The tragedy comes at an especially painful time of the year for the family: MacDonald’s father, Chad MacDonald Sr., died in a drunk-driving crash in Brea 17 years ago, on March 5, 1981.

The elder MacDonald had a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit and was speeding in a heavy rain when he crashed, police said.

Six years later, his widow and son received a $400,000 settlement from the firms that built the intersection, which Cindy Ann MacDonald alleged in court documents were poorly designed and to blame for the crash. She sustained massive internal injuries and some brain damage in the collision, according to the Orange County civil suit.

Chad MacDonald Jr. was a “quiet kid” who excelled in sports and academics for most of his three years at Esperanza High School. Many said they were puzzled when he left Esperanza last year and splintered from his old friends to hang out with new ones at El Camino, an alternative school in Placentia.

“We didn’t really know him much anymore. . . . We hardly ever saw him,” said Kristen Sandoval, who recalled MacDonald’s shy laugh. “When we did, he was different. He was with scary guys no one around here knew.”

Records show that MacDonald had been cited for various traffic offenses and was fined repeatedly for failing to appear in court. Last fall he was convicted of being a minor in possession of alcohol and, on New Year’s Eve, he was cited for driving at an unsafe speed.

“I don’t know what could have gone wrong for him,” said one friend, who requested that his name not be used. “He lost his way or something. He was running on a whole new level.”

Times staff writers Greg Hernandez and Erika Chavez and correspondents Mimi Ko Cruz and Steve Carney contributed to this report.