Live Oak Woman Killed in Downtown Santa Cruz

A 38-year-old woman from Live Oak was the first murder victim this year in Santa Cruz, after she was stabbed to death between two cars on the 300 block of Broadway.

Police closed the busy street after the 11:52 a.m. call of a stabbing Monday morning. They arrested a 44-year-old man at Barson and Campbell, a block away from where they woman was stabbed.

The man left a bloody knife at the scene, police said, and the woman had been stabbed many times. Police don't know their relationship. The man has a San Francisco address, they said.

Names are being witheld pending investigation of the case and notification of the woman's next of kin.

The suspect's name should be released later today, police said. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, despite medical attempts to save her. Santa Cruz Police called in the Department of Justice forensics team to help process evidence.

Two years ago the first murder of the year occurred New Year's Day a block away at the 7-Eleven at Ocean and Broadway. The last murder in the city was March 16, 2011, not far away on East Cliff Drive, when Heather Stearns was found dead and her boyfriend, John Clauer, was charged with the murder after her body was found in his apartment 18 days after she died.

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