By Lydia Warren
Last updated at 1:01 AM on 15th January 2012
A man has been arrested over the stabbing death of a homeless man in Anaheim, California, the latest in four murders of homeless men in the area.
The stabbing happened on Friday night. It has emerged that the victim, identified only as a Vietnam War veteran in his 60s called 'John,' thought he was being followed.
Police have not yet positively identified the victim or notified his next of kin, an Anaheim police spokesman Sgt. Bob Dunn, said today.
He had complained to people he knew that he thought he was being stalked, ABC News reports.
'He said "I need to talk to you." He said "I think I came in contact with the serial killer last night". 'Immediately, I was concerned,' Jim Burke told ABC News affiliate KABC of Los Angeles.
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Search: Police in Los Angeles, California have arrested a man in connection with the murder of a homeless man on Friday night. Witnesses chased the suspect as he fled a car park and led police to him
Questions: Deputy police chief Craig Hunter talks to reporters after the body was found behind a restaurant
Kevin Christensen, who also knew the victim, said: 'Why would you kill a homeless person? They do nothing wrong, especially him … He was a nice person.'
Witnesses told police that they chased Itzcoatl Ocampo, 23, of Yorba Linda, California, after the stabbing. Police were called at 8.17pm, searched Ocampo's home and arrested him.
Police had set up a large containment area at the scene and used bloodhounds to scour nearby neighborhoods in search for evidence, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Around 50 witnesses are being interviewed by police.
The identity of the Friday night victim was not officially released but nearby residents said the man, known as John, was well known.
Krista Schegetz, who had known John for five or six years, told the Orange County Register she had warned him about the killings.
'When the second one happened, I didn't know if he'd heard,' said Schegetz. 'I know he reads the paper. But I wasn't sure and I said just please be careful.
First victim: James McGillivray was stabbed outside a shopping centre on December 20
Second: Lloyd Middaugh was found stabbed on a riverbed on December 28
Third: Paulus Cornelius Smit was killed outside a library on December 30
'He was very solitary. When I first met him, I asked him if there was anything he needed, and he said "I have everything."'
'He was the nicest guy you can imagine,' Kevin Christensen told the Register. 'I wanted to warn him there was a serial killer loose, and he said "Don't worry about it."'
John's murder comes after the deaths of three homeless men in ten days last month. Each man, found dead in Orange County, was alone at the time of the killings and stabbed repeatedly.
James McGillivray, 53, was found killed with multiple stab wounds outside a shopping center in Placentia. Eight days later, Lloyd Middaugh, 42, was found along a riverbed trail in Anaheim.
Locations: Police in Orange County, California said a serial killer was responsible for the first three killings in December. They are investigating if the fourth, which happened on Friday, is connected
Clues: An image from surveillance video at a California strip mall shows James McGillivray before his death
Paulus Cornelius Smit, 57, was found stabbed to death on December 30 in a stairwell outside a library. His daughter told NBC he had been stabbed 15 to 20 times in the chest and that his bicycle had been stolen.
'He was a proud man,' Julia Smit Lorenzo, who said her father enjoyed making bicycles from scratch, recounted. 'He wouldn't walk away from a situation or into one. It looks like he was ambushed.'
'In a general sense he matches the description of the man filmed near the scene of the first killing. We are certainly not letting down our guard'
Craig Hunter, Anaheim police
She added: 'He was street smart. Homelessness was one thing I overcame. He succumbed to it.'
It is not yet known for certain if the killings are linked, but a task force is investigating a connection.
'Each victim was stabbed multiple times,' Anaheim Police Deputy Chief Craig Hunter said. 'There are some additional similarities between the victims that we are not going to discuss.'
No information was released on the man they took into custody, but Hunter said 'in a very general sense' he matched the description of the man suspected for the earlier deaths.
But police are not assuming they have solved the serial killings. 'We are certainly not letting down our guard,' Hunter said.
Fear: A crowd gathers around the scene of Friday's crime. Around 50 witnesses are being interviewed by police
Ongoing: Police are now investigating whether the stabbing is connected to three others in December
Authorities had released grainy photographs from surveillance video of a man in dark clothing wanted for questioning. Video also showed a white Toyota Corolla driving past the scene an hour before the murder.
Police had urged homeless people to seek shelter and visited homeless camps across Orange County to warn transients of a serial killer is on the loose.
On Friday, the Orange County sheriff's deputies union had announced a $ 5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
Tom Dominguez, president of the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs, told City News Service: 'This guy is a serial killer preying on some of the most vulnerable people in society.
'We have to do whatever we can to stop him from killing anyone else. If a reward can get someone to talk and help find him, it's worth every penny and more.'
They have also been stopping and questioning motorists around the locations of the crimes.
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Source : dailymail
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