Santa Ana Couple Slain in Their Home; Man Sought

Authorities were searching Thursday for a man who left a Santa Ana home shortly before an elderly couple were found stabbed to death inside.

“He was seen leaving ... the house,” Santa Ana Police Sgt. Carlos Rojas said.

“We don’t know who he is or if he’s involved, but we would like to talk to him.”

Emilia Casas, 73, and Nicolas Casas, 83, were found dead from multiple stab wounds in the living room of their home in the 1300 block of West 9th Street about 8 p.m. Wednesday. The couple were discovered by their daughter, who had come by to visit, Rojas said.

Police said the man -- described as Latino, in his 20s, about 5 feet 8 and 140 to 150 pounds -- was wearing light-blue jeans and a dark-blue sweat jacket. He was seen leaving the home about half an hour before the couple were found.

Rojas said there was no evidence of forced entry and investigators are still trying to determine if anything was taken from the home. Investigators said one possibility was that the attack was a home-invasion robbery.

The retired couple had lived in the home for 36 years. The Casases put their house up for sale after Emilia’s health deteriorated, neighbors said. Emilia, who worked as a house cleaner at an apartment complex in Tustin, suffered a stroke three weeks ago. Since then, a daughter, who lives in Santa Ana, checked on them daily, neighbors said.

The Casases wanted to move to Riverside to be close to their other daughter, a real estate agent who had listed their home, a granddaughter said.

“They were a nice, quiet couple,” said Gustavo Segura, 42, who grew up in the house across the street.

He said the Casases were friendly and watched him and his siblings play when they were young.

“We don’t know why anyone would do this,” Segura said.