Man Arrested in Slaying, Arsons

Authorities said Tuesday that they have arrested a 20-year-old Anaheim man in connection with the slaying of Angela M. King, a traffic assistant for the Anaheim Police Department.

Police said they received a tip Monday allegedly implicating Edgar Omar Osorio in the death of King, 34, as well as in the violent assault on King’s 70-year-old neighbor, who remains in serious condition at UCI Medical Center in Orange. Police are withholding the older woman’s name out of concern for her safety.

Detectives would not say what the motive might have been in the attack on King, which occurred after she arrived home about midnight Friday after a shift directing traffic for a Mighty Ducks hockey game at the Pond.

“We’re not disclosing motives right now or the sequence of events,” said Sgt. Rick Martinez, the Police Department spokesman. He said Osorio was booked into Anaheim City Jail on suspicion of murder and arson.

King and her elderly neighbor each lived alone in separate apartments on North East Street--a busy thoroughfare dominated by multistory apartment complexes. The assailant torched both apartments in the 1 a.m. Saturday attacks. Both women were brutally assaulted, but police would not discuss the nature of their injuries or say whether there were signs of forced entry.

UCI Medical Center spokeswoman Kim Pine said the 70-year-old suffered “puncture wounds to her back and knife wounds to her neck” but is expected to recover.

Police said they do not know whether King was attacked first or if she knew the assailant. King’s dog, a dachshund-mix named CiCi, suffered burns on its paws and muzzle. A relative of King’s retrieved the dog Tuesday from Orange County Animal Control, officials said.

After receiving the information alleging that Osorio was the killer, detectives on Monday began staking out a few locations, including an unspecified house in east Anaheim. About 11:45 p.m., detectives saw a man--whom police later identified as Osorio--leave the house, according to a news release from Anaheim Police Chief Roger Baker.

The man bolted when he saw the detectives, officials said. He ran past two or three houses before police surrounded and apprehended him.

Police declined to disclose what, if any, physical evidence was found that might link Osorio to the King slaying. Osorio was wanted for an earlier hit-and-run and resisting arrest in a central Orange County case, Martinez said.

Osorio’s bail was set at $250,000. Orange County traffic court records show that Osorio was cited three years ago by Santa Ana police for riding a bicycle without a lamp and for darting into traffic. He failed to appear in court on both charges, records show.

The investigation into King’s death continues, Martinez said.

In addition to working part time as an Anaheim police traffic assistant, she also worked as a membership accounts clerk at Trans Union Corp., a credit reporting agency in Fullerton.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. today at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 311 W. South St., Anaheim. Martinez said King’s mother will return to New York on Thursday with her daughter’s remains.

Times correspondent Theresa Moreau contributed to this report.