Woman Killed In Home Invasion Was LA County Probation Officer

LANCASTER, CA — A woman beaten to death in a Lancaster home-invasion robbery Sunday was a veteran Los Angeles County probation officer, and the man suspected of killing her is a homeless man known to live in the area, authorities said Monday.

The homicide of a veteran officer inside her own home sent shockwaves across Los Angeles County, which has been rattled by a rash of violent home-invasion robberies this year.

According to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, the intruder shattered a sliding glass door to get into the home, and a violent struggle broke out with the victim. The suspect was still inside the home when police arrived, and he was taken into custody, according to a department spokesman.

“A struggle ensued between him and the officer, and she suffered severe head trauma,” Los Angeles Sheriff's Department spokesman Lt. Michael Gomez confirmed to the Los Angeles Times.

The break-in occurred shortly after midnight Sunday. Deputies were sent to the 45500 block of Barrymoore Avenue at 12:05 a.m. Sunday on a "burglary/home invasion call," according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

"When deputies arrived, they found the victim ... unresponsive and suffering from blunt head trauma," according to a sheriff's department statement. "The victim was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene."

Authorities withheld the name of the woman, who was about 50-55 years old, pending notification of her relatives. She was reportedly a 16-year veteran of the department.

According to a Facebook post on Sunday by AFSCME Local 685, the union representing deputy probation officers, the victim was one of the union's members.

"One of our DPO II was found deceased early this morning at her residence in Antelope Valley," according to the union. "... The preliminary information is that she may be a victim of homicide. ... Meanwhile, please pray for family during this tragic event."

According to the Los Angeles Times, the woman was a veteran deputy probation officer assigned to Barry J. Nidorf juvenile hall in Sylmar. A law enforcement official with knowledge of the case told The Times that the woman had just come home from an overtime shift when the attack happened.

Anyone with information on the crime was urged to call the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.