Alhambra Woman Killed In Backyard, Man Arrested For Trespassing

ALHAMBRA (CBSLA.com)  — A 25-year-old man has been arrested on charges of trespassing at the home where an Alhambra woman was found killed Wednesday afternoon.

According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, 78-year-old Moon Cheung was killed in the backyard of a condo in the 1800 block of West Garvey Avenue at approximately 12:42 p.m. Alhambra police responded to a 911 call to find Cheung with blunt force trauma to her upper torso. Authorities believe she may have been gardening on her patio at the time of the killing.

Twenty-five-year-old Milton Chavez was arrested several hours later Wednesday on accusations he trespassed at Cheung's home. Alhambra police and sheriff's detectives are conducting a homicide investigation into Cheung's death.

According to the sheriff's department, a Hispanic man knocked on the victim's door at about 1 p.m. Authorities told CBS2 that the victim's daughter, who was cooking at the time, answered the door. The man told her that Cheung was laying on the ground in the backyard. When Cheung's daughter went outside to check on his claim, the suspect entered the home, shut the door and locked it, the sheriff's department said in a news release. The daughter then called 911.

Alhambra police officers responded and entered the home, but were unable to find the trespassing suspect. A few hours later, Alhambra police received a call about a suspicious man in a shed a short distance from the home who matched the description of the suspect. Chavez was caught and arrested for trespassing.

At the time of his capture, Chavez was in possession of an item that belonged to the victim, the sheriff's department said.

The victim's family has said they do not know Chavez.