Homeless Serial Murder Suspect Linked To Murders Of Mother, Son
SANTA ANA (CBS) — Charges were dropped today against a man who was awaiting trial for the fatal stabbings of his mother and brother in Yorba Linda, with prosecutors saying new evidence in the slayings points instead to a former Marine who is already charged with the killings of four homeless men in Orange County.
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Itzcotal "Izzy" Ocampo, 23, was expected to be charged Monday in connection with the Oct. 25 stabbings of Raquel Estrada, 53, and her son, Juan Herrea, 34, in their home in Yorba Linda.
Estrada's son, Eder Giovanni Herrera, had been charged with the killings, but District Attorney Tony Rackauckas told reporters late today that "we no longer have sufficient evidence to hold Mr. Herrera in custody."
"If he's indeed not culpable for these murders, I don't think it would be right to keep him in custody over the weekend," Rackauckas said.
"Since the filing of the charges against Herrera and Ocampo, there has been a significant amount of new evidence discovered in the case," he said.
"Ocampo and Herrera were friends from high school. Ocampo lived approximately one mile away from Herrera at the time of the murder. The victims on the Herrera case suffered a substantial number of stab wounds to the upper body, similar to the homeless victims. We made a significant DNA link to evidence collected at Ocampo's home from the Herrera crime scene ...
"At this point we have not conclusively eliminated Mr. Herrera as a suspect in the case. We will continue to investigate the case," he said. Ocampo, a former Marine, is due in court Monday. He has already been charged with the "thrill killings" of four homeless men in a crime spree that began Dec. 20.
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