Bloodshed befalls Simi Valley family
By Darleen Principe darleen@theacorn.com

The Simi Valley Police Department arrested the nephew of a woman who was fatally stabbed inside her home on the 800 block of Moffatt Circle this week.

According to police, Luis Angel Gutierrez, 19, was arrested and charged with murder shortly before 11 a.m. on Wednesday, three days after police began investigating the stabbing murder of his aunt, 44yearold Josefina LanuzaGutierrez.

Lt. David Livingstone of the Simi Valley Police Department said the suspect and the victim lived in the same home, and a motive for the killing has not yet been determined or released.

"We're still investigating this case, and we hope those (reasons) will bear themselves out as the investigation unfolds," Livingstone said.

On March 16, police responded to a 911 call that had been placed at 7:54 a.m. by another relative living in the Gutierrez home who had discovered the victim's body.

Police determined that the suspect was being treated for a wound at the Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center in Thousand Oaks on Wednesday morning, before he was taken into custody.

Dr. Janice Frank of the Ventura County Medical Examiner's office, said LanuzaGutierrez died as a result of multiple stab wounds.

According to a police report, investigators determined that the suspect Gutierrez is a legal resident of the United States and has lived in the Moffatt Circle home for the past year.

This is the third recorded homicide in Simi Valley so far this year. Police said they are not random acts of violence.

"It's really more of a reflection of things occurring in society in general," Livingstone said. "In all three cases, there has been some sort of a relationship between the attacker and the victim.

"In this case, we don't operate within the intimate relationships of family. As an agency, there's no way we can control these situations."

Lanuza-Gutierrez is survived by her husband, Abel Gutierrez, and their three sons, the eldest age 14 and twins age 11. The family have been residents of Simi Valley for 13 years. Lanuza-Gutierrez worked for 10 years at Burger King in the Target Plaza in Simi.

A memorial service for Lanuza-Gutierrez is scheduled for 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 26 at the Simi Valley Church of Christ, 1554 Sinaloa Road.

Police encourage anyone with information regarding the investigation to call the department's tip line at (805) 583-6984.