Friday, May 22, 2009

Pregnant Mom, Dad Stabbed to Death

A quiet seaside community was jolted by the brutal killings of a husband, wife, and their unborn child, while police say the couple’s young son was watching “American Idol” in the family room.

Authorities in Ventura, California, say they are desperate for information. “We don’t know the motive, or anything about the suspect,” said Sheriff’s Department Capt.Ross Bonfiglio.

According to police, Brock and Davina Husted were killed at about 10:30 P.M. Wednesday night after an intruder entered their beachfront house. The woman was four months pregnant and police are counting the fetus as a third homicide victim. The parents, both 42, were stabbed to death. Captain Bonfigio says the couple was viciously stabbed to death and the knife was recovered at the scene.

Investigators say the French doors on the ocean side of the single family house were left open on the night of the 20th, allowing the intruder access.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office say the couple’s 9-year-old son was watching the finale of “American Idol” when he saw the suspect, who passed in front of him. According to investigators, the killer “confronted Davina, who was in the kitchen,” police said in a press release. “Davina moved to the front portion of the house where the suspect followed and brutally stabbed Davina and Brock to death in one of the other rooms inside of the house.”

Detectives say the son found his parents on the floor and awoke his 11-year-old sister. The two children left the house and contacted a neighbor who called 911.

Captain Bonfigio said he does not know if the Husteds were targeted or the victims of a random home invasion. He said it has been more than a decade since the last homicide was reported in the area.

A massive search is under way to find the killer. Several law enforcement agencies have joined in the hunt.

The press release offers few clues as to the suspect’s identity, except to say he is a man with “a dark complexion wearing a black motorcycle helmet, and possibly wearing a dark or black jumpsuit.”

There is no indication of a motive — and it is unclear if anything was taken from the home. And police have revealed no evidence linking the killer to the victims.

Anyone with information should call the sheriff’s Major Crimes Bureau at (805) 477-7000.

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