Authorities were continuing Sunday to search for a man who stabbed a woman to death in front of her children at her East Los Angeles home.
The suspect is believed to have been the victim’s boyfriend, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. His identity has not been released.
Deputies responded to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon in the 100 block of South Townsend Avenue shortly before 8 p.m. Friday night, authorities said. They found the victim suffering from multiple stab wounds.
The woman was transported to a nearby hospital, where she later died.
Family members have identified the victim as Milagros Angelica Medina, a 45-year-old mother who they say was trying to break up with her boyfriend at the time of her killing.
A witness who described herself as a close family friend told Fox11 that one of Medina’s children tried to intervene during the stabbing. Her children are ages 3, 11, 13, 15 and 18.
“It was really gruesome,” she said. “Her five children saw it, [along with] her 3-year-old son. There was a lot of blood splattered everywhere.”
A website raising funds for funeral expenses has been set up on behalf of Medina’s family.
Anyone with information about the crime is urged to contact the Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. To report information anonymously, call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS (8477).