CA CA - O.C.Itzcoatl Ocampo arrested for deaths of homeless men

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fran said:
FWIW and MANY may not agree with me. But this is one case I do NOT believe they should ask for the death penalty. After you read the entire article, you MAY agree with me.

Very sad and disturbing case, all around. :(

JMHO
fran




http://www.ocregister.com/news/ocampo-335839-police-father.html

Suspect in homeless serial killings held in isolation

The man who police say stabbed four homeless men to death in a serial-killing spree in north Orange County was being held Monday in isolation at the central jail in Santa Ana for medical reasons.

Itzcoatl Ocampo, 23, a former Marine who served a 2008 tour in Iraq, is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday and is expected to face murder charges. Police say they are confident he is the killer whose attacks sent chills through the homeless community and prompted a regional manhunt.

Sheriff's officials would not release details of the medical condition that put Ocampo in isolation at the jail, citing privacy laws.

full article at link ....... http://www.ocregister.com/news/ocampo-335839-police-father.html
Click to expand...

I agree. The law and I disagree on when a person is legally incapable of being responsible for their actions. But I could probably be persuaded on this one. If reports are correct he had been showing signs of mental illness in the service, bad enough to get him sent home and released from the service. And family and friends report he had been hearing things. All of this before the murders.

But the state will point out that he refused treatment even though family and friends say they tried to get him to go. And he evidently took steps to hide his crimes, which indicates an awareness that what he did was wrong. Still there is always the possibility that he will be declared incompetent to stand trial.

I agree that the DP would be wrong for this one under the circumstances. Hopefully if it gets that far the jury will see what we see and will have some compassion.

For some reason though I am thinking that there may be a plea in this one. The war service, the mental illness, the "medical condition" that prevents the attorney visits. The prosecutor may be using the DP as a way to put him ahead in the plea negotiations. If there is a plea, I am looking for life. Don't know if it will be with or without parole.
 
Accused homeless killer somber in first court appearance

...is being held without bail at Orange County Jail on a psychological watch.

His attorney, Randall Longwith, said during a brief visit with Ocampo Tuesday that he found his 23-year-old client withdrawn.

"He was curled up in a ball under a blanket in underwear, no shirt, no pants," Longwith said. "He looked like a wet cat -- a scared, wet cat. It wasn't much conversation."

more at link ......................... http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lan...-killer-somber-in-first-court-appearance.html


I THINK the fact he didn't have on anything but his underwear is an indication of 'suicide watch.'

JMHO
fran
 
He may be 'sad' and withdrawn because he has no more men to viciously kill.

He had a little grin on his face as he looked around the courtroom from inside the cage at his arraignment. The D.A. said each murder was carefully thought out, the victims stalked, and he had more killings planned. He stabbed the poor men more than 50 times each with a knife that cuts through bone.

The 'scared, wet cat' analogy is absurd and meant to engender sympathy for him. This is a vicious, conniving serial killer, and he needs to be locked up tight for the rest of his life.
 
Attorney visits Ocampo after getting second court order

Lawyer spends 30 minutes with former Marine accused of killing four homeless men. An arraignment has been postponed to Feb. 17
......................................

Orange County's top prosecutor said he is prepared for Ocampo to mount an insanity defense or claim that he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and should be found not guilty in the killings.

"But that's not going to fly," Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas said.

more at link .................http://www.latimes.com/news/local/l...+|+Local+News)&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher
 
Here's a little good news:

Forklift driver rewarded in homeless killings case
– 3 hrs ago

>>>snip

...Hopkins, a 32-year-old forklift driver, was hailed a hero Wednesday and given a $5,000 reward for his role in the capture of Itzcoatl Ocampo, a former Marine.

"While we never encourage citizens to put themselves in danger, his actions saved unknown lives," said Tom Dominguez, president of The Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs, which paid the reward...

(article continues) http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=145878939

<<<snip
 
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=145878939

Hopkins, who had given money to Berry in the past, said he didn't feel like a hero because the man died.

"I did what I hope anybody would do if you see somebody in trouble," he said. "I'm just a guy who did the right thing. John was a Vietnam vet — he's a hero. That's a real hero."
Click to expand...

The arraignment is scheduled for Feb 17.
 
Police seized knife sharpener from O.C. killing suspect's bedroom

Authorities seized a Life Magazine book titled "The Most Notorious Crimes in American History" and a knife sharpener from serial killing suspect Itzcoatl Ocampo's Yorba Linda home the day after he was arrested in the stabbing deaths of four Orange County homeless men, according to court documents.

full article at link .................... http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-homeless-killings-20120126,0,5738536.story?track=rss
 
Uh-oh................LAPD has a problem on their hand. They already arrested a woman's son for killing her and his brother,...........and now, they believe it was someone else!

fran



Police: Similarities in homeless deaths, stabbings

Raquel Estrada and her son Juan Herrera were killed in Trix Circle, less than two miles from Ocampo's home, according to The Orange County Register ( http://bit.ly/wLLADJ). Estrada's 24-year-old son, Eder Herrera, has been charged in those murders.
Detectives are investigating reports that Ocampo knew Eder Herrera.

more at link .................... http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_19871951




O.C. homeless slayings: Police connect Ocampo to double homicide

The Anaheim Police Department on Thursday night confirmed a connection between suspected serial killer Itzcoatl Ocampo and the double slaying of a Yorba Linda woman and her son nearly two months earlier.

more at link .................. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/oc-homeless-slayings-ocampo.html
 
Oh man. The serial killer Ocampo went to school with the son that was murdered. :(

Wow! Imagine how the surviving son feels who's been arrested and charged with his mom' and bros' murder, and it MAY have been this guy all along.

fran


Suspect In Homeless Murders May Have Killed A Mother, Son

David Herrera and his mother Raquel Estrada were found stabbed to death in their home.

The woman’s other son– Eder Herrera is behind bars right now in connection with the murders. The victims lived about two miles away from Ocampo.


Police said Ocampo had a “relationship” with the family, but would not say what it was.

full article and video at link ................... http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/02/02/suspect-in-homeless-murders-may-have-killed-a-mother-son/
 
Police believe Ocampo involved in slayings of woman, son

February 3, 2012

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-homeless-slayings-20120203,0,2649151.story?track=rss

>>>snip

...Anaheim Police Lt. Julian Harvey, commander of the task force investigating the killings, said in an interview Thursday evening that there is "significant evidence" leading authorities to believe Ocampo was involved with the slayings of Raquel Estrada, 53, and Juan Herrera, 34, who were stabbed to death in their Yorba Linda home...


(article continues, with video)

<<<snip

Bold mine.
Wow. It'll be hard to credit any kind of diminished capacity to Ocampo if he did these murders, too. I'm really glad this guy is behind bars.
 
Feb. 3, 2012 Updated: 7:53 p.m.
D.A.: Suspect in homeless murders killed 2 others

http://www.ocregister.com/news/homeless-338811-charges-hererra.html
Rackauckas: "We just can't continue to hold Mr. Herrera"

>>>snip

SANTA ANA &#8211; Prosecutors on Friday announced that two new murder charges are being filed against Itzcoatl Ocampo, suspected of stabbing four homeless men to death, a day after the leader of the serial killings task force acknowledged that he is tied to the October slayings of a Yorba Linda mother and her son.

The additional murder charges against Ocampo, 23, were announced shortly after charges were dropped against Eder Herrera, a 24-year-old Yorba Linda man who spent more than three months in custody, accused of stabbing his mother and brother to death in October...

(article continues)

<<<snip

Also, (Rackauckas said) that Raquel Estrada was stabbed "more than 30 times" and her son, Juan Herrera, was stabbed "more than 60 times". And, that "there was a "significant link" between DNA evidence collected at Ocampo's home and the scene Estrada and Juan Herrera deaths."

Ocampo is scheduled to be arraigned on the new murder charges Monday morning.
 
So, was the son involved too, or is he totally innocent? I would think he was innocent, because Ocampo does not seem like the kind of guy who has partners in crime. He seems like a loner, imo.
 
katydid23 said:
So, was the son involved too, or is he totally innocent? I would think he was innocent, because Ocampo does not seem like the kind of guy who has partners in crime. He seems like a loner, imo.
Click to expand...
I agree. I think Eder Herrera is probably innocent of any involvement in the deaths of his mother and brother. Even so, as soon as Orange County released him (after the DA dropped both murder charges), he was taken into federal custody by Immigration officials. The only article I've seen about it (linked below) says it's an "immigration hold", and sort of explains why that might be, although it isn't really clear to me. I hope we'll hear more.


Man released by police, now held by feds
Feb. 4, 2012 Updated: 4:46 p.m.

http://www.ocregister.com/news/herrera-338875-immigration-ocampo.html

>>>snip

...Federal authorities place immigration holds on people suspected of committing an immigration violation. Violations range from staying in the country illegally, or legal residents who have been suspected of deportable offenses, among others...

(article continues)

<<<snip
 
My youngest daughter is on jury duty in OC. She's on lunch, waiting for the jury interviews of a trial. She went outside and said she couldn't believe all of the news trucks. I quickly went to the OCReg site and told her why they're all there.

fwiw
fran



http://www.ocregister.com/news/charges-338985-killings-son.html

Mother, son killings arraignment delayed for man held in homeless slayings
Itzcoatl “Izzy” Ocampo, 23, held in the deaths of four homeless men, will be arraigned March 16 in the case involving the stabbing deaths of a classmate's brother and mother.

Ocampo, 23, was officially charged Monday in an amended complaint with the murders of four homeless men in December and January, and with murdering Raquel Estrada, 53, and her son Juan Herrera, 34, in a brutal attack in their Yorba Linda home on Oct. 25 that was initially blamed on Eder Herrera, 24, another son.

Eder Herrera spent three months in jail on special circumstances murder charges before he was released Friday before Orange County prosecutors filed the additional charges against Ocampo, who attended Esperanza High School with Edel Hererra in the mid 2000s.

more at link ..................... http://www.ocregister.com/news/charges-338985-killings-son.html
 
ICE releases man once held in mother-son killings
Feb. 6, 2012 Updated: 3:12 p.m

http://www.ocregister.com/news/herrera-339061-immigration-released.html

>>>snip

...Herrera was released on his own recognizance, and his case will be referred to the Executive Office for Immigration Review.

"It will be up to the immigration court to determine whether Mr. Herrera has a legal basis to remain in the United States," the statement from ICE read. "In the meantime, ICE will continue to provide any assistance sought by local authorities with the ensuing murder investigation."

Prosecutors have dismissed all charges against Herrera. Ocampo is expected to be arraigned on two additional charges on March 16...

(article continues)

<<<snip

The article isn't clear about exactly when Herrera was released by ICE, but I'm guessing it happened today (as opposed to over the weekend).

Good.
 
I have to admit, I was very unhappy when I saw that ICE had taken the brother into custody. He has apparently lived in the U.S. for a very long time, went to HS with the accused. This wrongly accused brother's immigration status type thing, is one of the instance types that make it difficult to decide what to do about immigration. Being raised here, through no fault of his own, for all intents and purposes, his home IS the U.S.A., not the former home of his birth parents.

I'm pleased to see they released him. IF his mom and bros hadn't been brutally murdered by this serial killer, he may have lived in the U.S.A., never coming under suspicion by the immigration authorities. It wasn't fair that he was being punished, just because he knew a guy who became a serial killer and that killer, allegedly changed this poor mans life, world. He's got enough grief to last a life time.

My heart goes out to him.:rose: I pray he can find some peace in knowing most likely, the right person is going to be held accountable for killing his mom and bros.

fran
 
Grand jury indicts suspect in thrill killings

The Yorba Linda man who was called a "monster" by prosecutors when he was accused of the thrill killings of four homeless men during a 25-day span in December and January was indicted by the Orange County Grand Jury Thursday on six serial murder charges.

Itzcoatl "Izzy" Ocampo, 23, a Marine Iraq war veteran, is charged in the indictment with the unprovoked stabbing deaths of the four homeless men, as well as the stabbing deaths of a Yorba Linda woman and her adult son in an Oct. 25, 2011 attack that was initially blamed on the woman's youngest son.
http://www.ocregister.com/news/ocampo-340694-stabbed-death.html
 
mysteriew said:
Grand jury indicts suspect in thrill killings

The Yorba Linda man who was called a "monster" by prosecutors when he was accused of the thrill killings of four homeless men during a 25-day span in December and January was indicted by the Orange County Grand Jury Thursday on six serial murder charges.

Itzcoatl "Izzy" Ocampo, 23, a Marine Iraq war veteran, is charged in the indictment with the unprovoked stabbing deaths of the four homeless men, as well as the stabbing deaths of a Yorba Linda woman and her adult son in an Oct. 25, 2011 attack that was initially blamed on the woman's youngest son.
http://www.ocregister.com/news/ocampo-340694-stabbed-death.html
Click to expand...

I wonder why he killed that poor woman and her son. It was his friends mother. I wonder what he was thinking.
 
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