Suspect in grisly murder at upscale Los Angeles apartment complex in custody
The suspect, according to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, has been identified as Erick Escamilla. The 27-year-old was reportedly taken into custody at a West Hills hospital.
The victim, 53-year-old Menashe 'Manny' Hidra was found dead inside his apartment on April 26, but only after a concerned friend, who said Manny had been home sick with COVID, called police for a welfare check.
Three days before the unsettling and tragic discovery, one resident who lives near the murder scene told KTLA that around 3 a.m. on April 23, he heard screams and someone yelling for help.
'I just woke up to some loud noises, something crashing,' he told KTLA. 'There was screaming, and I called our security and, also, right after that, I called the police.'
The resident, like many others in the building, did not want his name shared.
Even more chilling is home security footage obtained by KTLA that showed Escamilla stalking the building's hallways just before 3 a.m.
In the footage, he's seen going door to door, attempting to force his way into several units.
Residents said it appears that whoever committed the murder entered an empty fifth-floor apartment and then climbed from that balcony to the victim's balcony.
Mother of toddler abandoned at sheriff's station in Southern California located
Photos of the building's bloodstained exterior between the two balconies bolster those claims, as well as a photo of a bloodstained door handle leading to an exit stairwell where the killer may have fled after the murder.
While police have been tight-lipped about the details of the homicide, investigators said a suspect illegally entered the 53-year-old's apartment where a struggle ensued that left the victim dead.
Management's response to the harrowing incident has left some residents of the high-end complex furious and frustrated. Many of them said they've complained about security issues that predated the killing and that even after the murder, there were additional break-ins.
Escamilla's arrest comes just short of two weeks since Hidra's body was discovered, leaving residents in the building terrified that the suspect was still on the loose.
Police had reportedly been tracking the 27-year-old, narrowly missing him last week, The Times reported.
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