Slaying Suspect Evades Deputies

Orange County sheriff’s officials continued searching Saturday for a 44-year-old Ontario man--the main suspect in the stabbing death of his Laguna Beach girlfriend.

Sheriff’s investigators thought they had Frederick Guest surrounded at a relative’s home in Compton on Saturday evening, but when they tried to serve the search warrant after a five-hour standoff, the house was empty.

“They hit the house, and he is not there,” sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino said. “Nobody’s there. He’s gone.”

Investigators believe Guest killed his girlfriend, Julie Marie Sangari, 38--the mother of the couple’s three children--while she was working at her San Juan Capistrano office Friday afternoon.

A passerby found Sangari with multiple stab wounds after noticing blood coming from her office. She was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital a short time later. Guest matches the description of a man seen fleeing the scene, Amormino said.

During the investigation’s early stages, detectives were searching for the three children, ages 1, 2 and 12.

On Saturday, Guest apparently arranged to give the children to relatives in Compton.

The children were all unharmed, Amormino said.

Authorities surrounded that home near 135th Street and Avalon Boulevard, but Guest slipped away. He may have left before they arrived, Amormino said.

Detectives were still investigating Guest’s history and his relationship with Sangari.

They had no details Saturday evening about why he may have killed her, whether they were estranged or whether they had a history of domestic violence.

“The investigation is just beginning,” Amormino said. “Now we’ll start interviewing family and friends.”

Guest is described as African American, 6 feet, 180 to 200 pounds, with curly hair. He was last seen driving a 1989 red-and-orange Pontiac with license plate 2NXM255.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Orange County Sheriff’s Department at (714) 647-7000.