Del Cerro Woman Stabbed to Death by Home Intruder: Police

San Diego, CA — A woman was killed and another injured Sunday night in Del Cerro by a home intruder, according to police.

The victim, a 74-year-old Vietnamese woman, and her house guest, a 50-year-old Vietnamese woman, were found with stab wounds in a home in the 5600 block of Mill Peak Road after a brief standoff between police and the suspect, San Diego police Lt. Manny Del Toro said.

Police identified Eduardo Torres, 20, of San Diego, as the suspect in the incident. Torres was arrested on suspicion of murder, burglary and sexual assault charges. 

Police first responded at about 11:40 p.m. to a report of a burglary in progress, Del Toro stated in a news release.

"A resident reported an unknown suspect was trying to break a window to her house," Del Toro said. "As officers responded, additional information was received that the same suspect left the initial residence and went into the yard of an adjacent home. While there, the suspect broke a window and made entry into the second residence.

"Officers arrived and quickly set up a perimeter. Due to the likelihood there were citizens in danger inside the home, patrol officers made entry to search for the suspect. As the search of the residence was conducted, the suspect yelled to the officers that he was armed with a knife and a gun and that he was going to kill the occupants. 

"The officers could also hear female victims in distress and continued to search for their exact location within the residence. Once the exact location of the suspect was determined, the officers tactically made entry into the room and the suspect immediately surrendered. The suspect dropped a knife and he was taken into custody."

Inside the home, officers discovered the two women with stab wounds to their upper bodies. The women were rushed to a local hospital, where the 74-year-old woman died from her injuries just before 2 a.m. Her identity had not been made public as of Monday morning. 

The stab wounds of the 50-year-old victim — whom police learned was visiting from Chicago — were non-life-threatening, Del Toro said; however, the woman was sexually assaulted in the incident, he said.

Del Toro said forensic testing will determine whether the older woman who died was also sexually assaulted.

A third resident of the home, a 56-year-old Vietnamese man, was locked out of the residence while the burglary occurred and was unharmed, according to police.

Del Toro said a 10-inch hunting-type knife was recovered, but a gun was not located.

The lieutenant told reporters Monday during a mid-morning briefing that Torres had a "violent criminal history," but did not elaborate.

—City News Service contributed to this report.

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