Itzcoatl Ocampo, 23, of Yorba Linda. (Booking photo) |
YORBA LINDA, Calif. (KTLA) -- Prosecutors have decided to seek the death penalty against a former Marine accused in the stabbing murders of a mother and her son in Yorba Linda, as well as the serial murders of four homeless men in Orange County.
23-year-old Itzcoatl "Izzy" Ocampo is charged with six felony counts of murder with special circumstances for lying in wait and multiple murders.
He also faces sentencing enhancements for personal use of a deadly weapon, a knife, during the commission of a crime.
Ocampo has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.
Ocampo's attorney, Randall Longwith, would not say if the plea would change to a potential insanity plea.
He said he has had trouble communicating with Ocampo.
Ocampo is accused of stabbing four homeless men to death in Orange County from Dec. 20, 2011, to Jan. 13.
He is also accused in the fatal stabbings of 53-year-old Raquel Estrada and her son, 34-year-old Juan Herrera.
During the search for the homeless killer, detectives saw similarities between the murders of Estrada and Herrera and the stabbing deaths of the four homeless men that began in Yorba Linda.
In particular, detectives focused on the severity of the attacks, the number and the type of wounds, and the proximity of Ocampo's home to the scene of the Estrada and Herrera slayings -- less than two miles away.
Eder Herrera, 24, was initially arrested and charged in the stabbing deaths of his mother and brother.
Detectives now say they have evidence that exonerates him and points toward Ocampo.
Herrera and Ocampo were friends in high school and prosecutors say DNA evidence links Ocampo to the murders.
Charges were dropped against Herrera, who had been jailed without bail since Oct. 28.
He was in custody when 53-year-old James McGillivray -- the first of four homeless men killed -- was stabbed to death behind a business in Placentia on Dec. 20.
The killer struck again on Dec. 28, when 42-year-old Lloyd "Jimmy" Middaugh was stabbed to death near the Santa Ana River in Anaheim.
Paulus "Dutch" Smith, 57, was stabbed in a stairwell of the Yorba Linda Public Library on Dec. 30.
Ocampo was arrested on Jan. 13 after a fourth homeless man, John Berry, 64, was stabbed to death behind a Carl's Jr. Restaurant near La Palma Avenue and Imperial Highway.
Ocampo is being held without bail.
23-year-old Itzcoatl "Izzy" Ocampo is charged with six felony counts of murder with special circumstances for lying in wait and multiple murders.
He also faces sentencing enhancements for personal use of a deadly weapon, a knife, during the commission of a crime.
Ocampo has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.
Ocampo's attorney, Randall Longwith, would not say if the plea would change to a potential insanity plea.
He said he has had trouble communicating with Ocampo.
Ocampo is accused of stabbing four homeless men to death in Orange County from Dec. 20, 2011, to Jan. 13.
He is also accused in the fatal stabbings of 53-year-old Raquel Estrada and her son, 34-year-old Juan Herrera.
During the search for the homeless killer, detectives saw similarities between the murders of Estrada and Herrera and the stabbing deaths of the four homeless men that began in Yorba Linda.
In particular, detectives focused on the severity of the attacks, the number and the type of wounds, and the proximity of Ocampo's home to the scene of the Estrada and Herrera slayings -- less than two miles away.
Eder Herrera, 24, was initially arrested and charged in the stabbing deaths of his mother and brother.
Detectives now say they have evidence that exonerates him and points toward Ocampo.
Herrera and Ocampo were friends in high school and prosecutors say DNA evidence links Ocampo to the murders.
Charges were dropped against Herrera, who had been jailed without bail since Oct. 28.
He was in custody when 53-year-old James McGillivray -- the first of four homeless men killed -- was stabbed to death behind a business in Placentia on Dec. 20.
The killer struck again on Dec. 28, when 42-year-old Lloyd "Jimmy" Middaugh was stabbed to death near the Santa Ana River in Anaheim.
Paulus "Dutch" Smith, 57, was stabbed in a stairwell of the Yorba Linda Public Library on Dec. 30.
Ocampo was arrested on Jan. 13 after a fourth homeless man, John Berry, 64, was stabbed to death behind a Carl's Jr. Restaurant near La Palma Avenue and Imperial Highway.
Ocampo is being held without bail.
