Hayward woman stabbed to death, husband in custody
Hayward, Calif. - Hayward police are characterizing a stabbing that resulted in a woman's death as domestic violence committed by the victim's husband.
Neighbors at the Peppertree apartment complex were shocked and saddened to learn their neighbor’s life was lost on Thursday evening.
It was on busy Cypress Avenue in Hayward on Thursday night, when several neighbors called 911, reporting a woman screaming.
"Officers arrived on scene, located a female inside the apartment, unresponsive, suffering from what appeared to be stab wounds," said Officer Cassondra Fovel. "Medical personnel arrived on scene, attempted to treat her and pronounced her deceased at the scene."
One resident, Rohullah Shirzad was studying at home at the time of the killing. He said, "I had my headphones on, in my ears, and my roommate asked me, ‘Is there something going on here? Maybe the cops going to arrest somebody?"
A womand was stabbed to death in Hayward. Her husband is in custody
One neighbor who didn’t want to be identified, reported hearing screaming and then it stopped suddenly.
He said, "I heard a man screaming, ‘No! No! No!’ I think he realized what he had done."
Fovel reported, it was a few hours later, that Gary Garcia turned himself in to another police department.
"The male is Gary Garcia, a 66-year-old Filipino male, a resident of Hayward," said Fovel. "The victim was his wife. They’ve been married two or three years."
Neighbors shared Garcia used a wheelchair and had told them he served in Iraq and became disabled.
Christopher Wagner, a neighbor who lives on the first floor of the apartment complex that has 60 units, said, "He had a prosthetic leg, so I would hold the door open for him. I would see him in the mornings when I would do my workout, and we would pass each other and say hi to each other."
Police say the victim is a woman in her fifties. They are not identifying her until next of kin are notified, some of whom live outside the area, according to Fovel,
"She does have family, and we’re working on getting in touch with all of those family members, including possibly any children," Fovel said.
Neighbors and police say they haven’t experienced problems at the couple’s apartment before. Hayward Police have not had any prior calls for service calls at the unit.
This is one of several fatal cases of domestic violence in the Bay Area lately. Public safety, police and other organizations that can help people know if you are a victim of domestic violence, there are resources available locally, nationally and globally.
If you’re in desperate danger, call 9-1-1.
In the meantime, police are asking anyone who saw or heard anything about this domestic violence case in Hayward to contact them with information at (510) 293-7176.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 800-799-7233. It operates 24/7 and offers support in multiple languages: English, Spanish and 200+ through interpretation service. Learn more
Alice Wertz is a freelance reporter at KTVU Fox 2 News. She can be reached at Alice.Wertz@Fox.com
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