Woman Shot, Left in Garage for Six Days

For six days, Christina Stebbins languished in the garage of her secluded Big Bear Lake home, lying on a mattress and trying not to let her strength seep away through the three bullet wounds in her body, authorities said Sunday.

Boyfriend Christian Lindblad, who is allegedly responsible for firing the bullets that sliced into her hand, leg and stomach, tended to Stebbins’ wounds with gauze and antiseptic, investigators said.

But he never called for help.

Instead, help finally came on Wednesday, when a family friend learned of the shooting and summoned paramedics who airlifted Stebbins to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where she remains in critical condition.

Lindblad, 36, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. He has been at the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino since Wednesday. Bail was set at $500,000. Court records indicate Lindblad has no significant criminal history.

Investigators said Sunday that they are also looking closely at the possible involvement of Lindblad’s parents.

Detectives said they believe Lindblad confided in them, but it is unclear how long they knew their son’s girlfriend lay bleeding in the garage of the Pelican Drive house.

“Detectives are still investigation their criminal liability,” said San Bernardino County sheriff’s spokeswoman Robin Haynard. She declined to release the names of Lindblad’s parents.

Haynard said she did not know what prompted the June 27 shooting at the two-story home the couple shared.

The house, near the edge of dried-out Baldwin Lake, sits away from the bustling resort town of Big Bear Lake. The only visible structure nearby is a stable that houses a petting zoo.

Authorities said no one apparently heard the shots fired at Stebbins, critically wounding her.

Lindblad, fearing he would be arrested, decided not to call 911, authorities said. At some point, however, he did summon his parents, who live nearby, Haynard said.

Investigators said they suspect that the parents helped Lindblad set up his girlfriend on a mattress in the garage, where she was cared for with gauze, soapy water and antiseptics.

Haynard said Lindblad’s father eventually told a family friend about the shooting, prompting the friend to call paramedics, who found Stebbins in grave condition.