Woman killed in Santa Rosa leaves homeless community on edge

Homeless woman stabbed to death near Santa Rosa shopping mall

Santa Rosa Police are investigating after a homeless woman was killed along a popular trail downtown.

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - The steady flow of water hitting the rocks along Santa Rosa Creek may look tranquil, but it’s here along the Prince Memorial Greenway between Santa Rosa Avenue and ‘A’ Street around eleven o’clock Sunday night, where police say 61-year-old Lisa McCool was stabbed to death.

"Hurting the homeless, it’s messed up. It’s scary," said Amy Jacobs, who is homeless.

Jacobs doesn’t feel safe along the trail, and she’s not alone.

"I was stabbed along the other side of the bike trail," said George Lopez, who used to be homeless himself, and was attacked there over a year ago.

He can no longer walk without feeling pain.

"I just got stabbed in my leg and twice in my arm," said Lopez.

According to homeless advocates, there are about 3,000 homeless people in Sonoma County, where two-thirds are unsheltered, and more than half are in Santa Rosa.

"No one grows up wanting to be homeless," said Jennielynn Holmes, CEO of Catholic Charities, which provides resources including food, shelter, and drop-in medical services to up to 800 homeless people every day.

"You’re seeing them very visibly during the worst crisis of their lifetime," said Holmes.

Despite McCool’s murder, police said homicides are down significantly in Santa Rosa, from a total of ten in 2024, to two this year.

"I just do want to underscore the fact that this was a victim of a crime, whether she was homeless or not," Santa Rosa Police Captain Dan Marincik told KTVU. "It’s definitely a tragedy in our community."

59-year-old Edmund Wilson, a former nurse, has called the streets home for eight years, and believes they’re getting more dangerous.

"We just all need to get along, you know?" said Edmund, while sitting outside the Catholic Charities downtown Santa Rosa facilities. "It’s not like homeless people are going to just disappear, you know? We’ve got to find some kind of middle ground."

Police have an active downtown enforcement team which covers the area where this violent crime took place, just one block from Santa Rosa Plaza mall.

McCool was stabbed at least once in the upper body, according to investigators, who have some leads, but so far, no arrest.

There is a $5,000 reward being offered by the Sonoma County Alliance Community Engagement and Safety Rewards Fund, for information leading to an arrest.

Police are hoping anyone who knows anything will give them a call at (707) 543-3593, or leave an anonymous tip on their website.

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