Santa Rosa man found inside home, dead with stab wounds

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - Police are investigating the discovery of a man, stabbed to death in his Santa Rosa home. It happened on Jennings Avenue near Range Avenue, not far from Coddingtown Mall. 

Police have no witnesses to the apparent homicide. 

"He has injuries on his body that are consistent with a knife wound, " said Lt. Dan Marincik of the Santa Rosa Police Department. 

Marincik would not say where the man was stabbed, or how many times. 

The 55-year-old victim was found at about 12:40 p.m. Thursday.

A 61-year-old woman, owner of the house, said she came home, found the man, and ran to the next-door neighbors to call for help. 

"Obviously she was the individual who discovered him inside the residence, so detectives definitely wanted to talk to her and interviewed her," said Marincik.

Property records show the couple has lived in the residence for 16 years. 

"I don't know much about them, they kept pretty much to themselves," said neighbor Keith Henry. 

The neighborhood is an older one, with newer housing complexes and a dog park alongside. 

Police were quick to say the community was not in danger.  

"When they first moved in, they started growing pot," said Henry, showing KTVU the victim's sizable marijuana garden, visible over Henry's backyard fence. 

He says a "fair number" of people visited the home, and wonders if the grow is somehow linked to the death.   

"Probably but I don't know," said Henry, "I'm not into that stuff, I don't like the smell of it, smells like skunks to me." 

It appears the extensive grow pulled electricity from the house. 

PG&E arrived after dark to make adjustments to the wiring, at the hook-up and the power pole. 

After that, lights came on inside, and forensic investigators went about their work. 

Police couldn't say whether they've been called to this address before.  

"The greenhouse smelled up the neighborhood and there was lots of traffic," said neighbor Todd Elsa, "and it's been glowing for years, like a big bright light all night long." 

Elsa says neighbors have made their discontent know to police, and the residents.      

"We tried flying a drone around once, and he got crazy about it, yelled at us, and that was our only interaction with him ever, in 14 years."

As the investigation stretched into the evening, police were remaining silent on a possible suspect, but said they found signs of a struggle. 

"There was some signs of disarray inside of the residence, as well as the physical injuries on the individual who passed away," said Marincik.

Prior to the man's death, Santa Rosa has had two homicides this year.