Murrieta Transient Suspected In Fatal RivCo Stabbing: Cops

MURRIETA, CA — A Murrieta transient, already in custody, was named as the prime suspect in the brutal slaying of a Yucaipa man last month, according to the Riverside Police Department investigators.

Robert Thomas Campbell, 26, of Murrieta, was already in custody at the time he was charged, according to Riverside Police spokesperson Officer Ryan Railsback.

He was arrested in California Oaks in Murrieta on the morning of Oct. 4 and was found with a concealed knife at that time. According to jail records, he was being held at the Larry D. Smith Correctional facility, awaiting a Nov. 1 court date for new charges.

On Sept. 29, just before 3:45 p.m., officers responded to the 2500 block of Kansas Avenue in Riverside, where a person was found unresponsive, suffering numerous stabbing wounds, behind a building near the railroad tracks, according to Railsback. The victim, Charles Edwin Jensen, 56, of Yucaipa, was declared dead at the scene by emergency responders.

"Campbell had already been arrested for violating the terms of his Post-Release Community Supervision and was in custody at a Riverside County detention facility," Railsback said in a recent news release. "A murder charge has now been added to his booking, and he is being held without bail."

"The investigation remains ongoing, and no further details are available for release at this time," Railsback said.

Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact Detective William McGuigan at (951) 353-7103 or WMcGuigan@RiversideCA.gov, or Detective Richard Glover at (951) 353-7134 or RGlover@RiversideCA.gov.

Those wishing to remain anonymous can download the Riverside Police Department’s Atlas 1 mobile app and use the “Send a Message” feature to provide information.