Anaheim Man Charged With Stabbing Girlfriend, 6-Month-Old Son To Death
SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — A 24-year-old man made his first court appearance Thursday on charges of fatally stabbing his girlfriend and their 6-month-old baby boy.
Kwame Adom Carpenter, of Anaheim, didn't enter a plea to two felony counts of murder for the stabbing deaths of 24-year-old Moureen Gathua and their son, Kyan Gathua-Carpenter, in the Anaheim apartment they shared with her mother. The woman and baby were found just after noon Monday by police responding to the report of an assault.
Carpenter's arraignment was postponed to July 17.
Prosecutors say Carpenter and Gathua were arguing when she picked up the baby and he allegedly stabbed both of them with a kitchen knife. Carpenter then fled the scene in a relative's car, according to prosecutors.
Officers responding to the scene found Gathua and her son suffering from stab wounds. Gathua was pronounced dead at the scene, and her son was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died.
Carpenter was arrested Tuesday in Fountain Valley after he was found sleeping in the back seat of a car in the parking lot of Fountain Valley Regional Hospital. Police say he tried to drive his car into a squad car, then led officers on a pursuit before crashing in Mile Square Park in Santa Ana and jumping into a nearby lake in an effort to escape.
Carpenter was treated at a hospital for a dog bite by a Fountain Valley police K-9.
The charges against Carpenter include special circumstances allegations for committing multiple murders and the personal use of a deadly weapon, which make him eligible for the death penalty. Prosecutors will decide later whether to pursue the death penalty for Carpenter.
Gathua had emigrated to the U.S. from Kenya seven years ago with hopes of becoming a nurse, according to her brother, Jimmy Gathua, and she was overjoyed when she became a mother.
"She lived a wonderful life, she was a lady who really enjoyed life," Jimmy Gathua said.
Gathua's family and friends say they have kept in close contact with detectives.
"And as of last night, we were informed by the detective in charge of the case that he had confessed to the two murders," Rev. Patrick Kimani said.
Gathua's family set up a memorial fund on GoFundMe and at Bank of America in an effort to raise money for their funerals. Donations will be accepted at the GoFundMe page or by sending cash or checks to Bank of America account #325059388348.
