Man Accused of Killing Parents of His Friend
A 19-year-old Orange County man will be arraigned Jan. 31 on charges of stabbing his best friend’s parents to death, officials said Thursday.
Gerald Thomas Johnson of Villa Park was arrested this week at a psychiatric hospital to which he was admitted several days after the slayings. He is being held without bail.
Officials said Johnson killed Jose and Elena Najera in the couple’s Garden Grove home Dec. 28. Officers said they found DNA evidence that linked Johnson to the crime scene. The couple’s son, Jose Najera Jr., 19, reportedly found the bodies and called police.
Appearing in court Thursday were several of the suspect’s friends. One of them, Vincent Torres Jr., 18, said Johnson could not have committed the crime because Johnson was with him and Jose Najera Jr. at the Johnson home in Villa Park during most of the night when the killings occurred.
Garden Grove police Capt. Dave Abrecht, however, said Torres’ account conflicts with evidence that detectives uncovered in the case. Abrecht declined to elaborate, but said, “There’s been some involvement by the boys, by the son.”
Police said they believe more than one person committed the crime, but only Johnson has been named as a suspect. Police have not revealed a motive.
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