THIRD DEATH ROCKS RITZY AREA
Two weeks after a couple were stabbed to death in their beachfront home near Ventura, a 61-year-old woman was fatally stabbed at her home in an upscale waterfront neighborhood nine miles down the coast.
The body of Wendy DiRodio was found in her locked first-floor bedroom in Ventura Keys about 3 p.m. Wednesday. There was more than one entry into the room, said Sgt. Jack Richards, a spokesman for the Ventura Police Department. Richards would not elaborate.
DiRodio, who was described as a counselor, was living with her parents, who are in their 80s. Her mother discovered her body.
It is unknown whether DiRodio’s death is connected to the May 20 slayings of Brock and Davina Husted, both 42, of Faria Beach, Richards said.
“We have no direct link right now, but that door is wide open,” he said.
By early Thursday evening, no weapon had been found at DiRodio’s residence. A team from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, which is investigating the Husted deaths, was helping in the search for evidence.
The Husteds were killed by an intruder in a motorcycle helmet who entered their home through an open patio door facing the beach.
DiRodio’s neighbors heard about her death through automated calls from the police.
“When you hear about this and the other stabbings -- well, I’m freaked out about it,” said a woman who declined to give her name. “I’m locking my doors.”
DiRodio’s street is lined on one side with dockside homes facing a channel that runs into Ventura Harbor. DiRodio’s house is on the other side of the street.
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