'She was beloved, she was kind': Berkeley hills stabbing leaves grandmother dead

BERKELEY, Calif. - In the Berkeley hills, a normally very quiet neighborhood was disrupted and had neighbors heartbroken over what occurred Saturday afternoon.

Two people were stabbed, including a woman who died from her injuries. 

Police said the woman, described by neighbors as in her 60s, was attacked and stabbed to death at her home on the 1000 block of Overlook Road around 12:30 p.m.

Sources tell KTVU that the suspect is Jonah Roper, 36, and that the victim is Roper's mother. 

According to police, they received multiple calls from neighbors who heard screaming. 

"All the neighbors are devastated," said neighbor Mardi Sicular. "People were yelling ‘Help, help, call 911.’"

When police arrived, they found a woman suffering from stab wounds.

Neighbors said the woman lived in her house with her partner and granddaughter, and was a doula. 

"She was a beautiful person, she was beloved, she was kind, she was generous. She was just an angel of the neighborhood," Sicular said.

Neighbors said the victim made jewelry and was always "incredibly helpful."

Neighbors said the victim's partner was then chased down the street by the suspect, but that he managed to get away. Then, a few blocks away, residents watched as the suspect, still wielding a knife, ran into a neighbor’s yard, and stabbed another woman before stealing a car and taking off.

The officers found the suspect in the stolen car and pursued him until a collision occurred. 

Three miles away, Jesicca Kanat was just arriving at work as a police pursuit of the suspect ended right in front of her at the corner of Ninth Street and Gilman Street in Berkeley.

"I heard sirens, and I was parking my car," Kanat said. "Then I looked up, and I hear the biggest crash, the loudest sound, and I see a bunch of cars hitting each other. Within minutes, several police cars, and all I could see was one man on the ground. I don’t think he was resisting, I mean they had him cuffed, face-first one the ground really quickly."

Back in the Berkeley hills, investigators went door to door speaking with neighbors.

"The police say it was not random," Sicular said.

But so far, police have yet to confirm if and how the suspect might have known the victim. 

Bay City News contributed to this report.