Suspect in December Slaying in Sherman Oaks Is Arrested
A Camarillo man suspected in last year’s fatal stabbing of a Sherman Oaks woman was arrested while attempting to cross into the United States from Tijuana, authorities said Sunday.
Luis Phillip Ponce, 24, was being sought by Los Angeles police in connection with the Dec. 9, 1998, stabbing death of Eva Marie Traschel-Gooch, 34, according to LAPD Det. Jim Rahm of the Van Nuys Division.
U.S. Border Patrol officers detained Ponce and another man late Saturday during a routine vehicle inspection at the U.S.-Mexico border.
A check of Ponce’s fingerprints revealed he was using an alias. Federal authorities then checked for outstanding warrants and discovered that Ponce was sought in connection with the Sherman Oaks slaying.
The computer check also revealed that Ponce’s passenger was wanted for illegally entering the United States.
Traschel-Gooch was found dead on the floor of her apartment in the 4900 block of Van Nuys Boulevard, according to LAPD detectives. The door to her apartment was found ajar and she had been stabbed several times.
Ponce is scheduled to be arraigned today on a murder charge, Rahm said.
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