Attempted Murder Suspect Killed on Train Tracks

A man who faced charges of attempted murder for allegedly slashing his wife’s throat stepped into the path of a Metrolink train in Anaheim on Tuesday morning and was killed, raising questions about why he had been released from jail.

Yorba Linda resident Johnny Humbert, 49, was set free last month after a judge reduced his bail from $250,000 to $10,000. Prosecutors had fought against the reduction, arguing that Humbert posed a danger to himself and others, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Randy Payne.

“I said I was afraid he was going to hurt his wife, someone else in the public or himself,” Payne said. “It’s a difficult call. But when someone is charged with attempted murder, they’re usually sitting in a cell somewhere.”

Humbert was scheduled to attend a preliminary hearing at North Court in Fullerton on Thursday in connection with the slashing of his wife of 26 years.

On Monday, Humbert, a painter for two decades at the Fullerton Unified School District, called in sick to work, Payne said.

About 7:40 a.m. on Tuesday, Humbert walked out of some bushes on one side of the railway, according to police. He waited for the eastbound train and stepped onto the tracks.