A man was charged with murder April 24 in the fatal stabbing of a 67-year-old woman who was riding a Metro train in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office announced in a statement.
Elliott Tramel Nowden, 45, of Los Angeles allegedly stabbed the victim, Mirna Soza Arauz, on April 22 while she was returning home after work, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Ms. Arauz, a mother of three and grandmother of seven, got off at the Universal City Station at Lankershim Boulevard and Campo De Cahuenga Way where she was cut and stabbed in the throat on the platform. Metro security rendered aid but she later died of her injuries at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Mr. Nowden fled the scene on foot and was arrested about half an hour later near Ventura Boulevard and Vineland Avenue, about half a mile from the station, by officers who recognized him from a description, police said.
He was later booked on one count each of murder and first-degree robbery and is being held on $2 million bail.
A GoFundMe page was created by Ms. Arauz’s nephew, Alex Castillo to cover expenses for her burial.
“We have more questions than answers at this point,” Mr. Castillo said. “While we await justice for our aunt, our biggest priority is giving her a proper burial at home in Nicaragua.”
This isn’t the first time Mr. Nowden has been charged with assaulting a passenger on a Metro train.
He was barred from boarding or riding Metro trains as part of a three-year probation after battering a person on a train in 2019, court records show. He was also on probation for two years for a petty theft conviction in 2003.
His arraignment is scheduled for June 6, the DA’s office said. He could spend life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.
