Mom stabbed to death in home, daughter stabbed and wounded; suspect in custody: Police

(BURBANK, Calif.) — A man is in custody for allegedly stabbing a woman to death and stabbing and wounding her daughter, according to authorities in Los Angeles County, California.

Officers responded around 6 a.m. Monday, to a house in Burbank where they found two women suffering from stab wounds, Burbank police said.

The mother, 59-year-old Arti Varma, who taught first-grade in Burbank, died at the hospital, police said.

Her 25-year-old daughter was hospitalized in stable condition, police said. Authorities did not release the daughter’s name, but a neighbor identified her as Meera Varma, a nationally recognized mental health activist, according to Los Angeles ABC station KABC.

Detectives identified 30-year-old Sergio Fraire as a person of interest, and on Monday night, officers served a search warrant at a Burbank home where he was believed to be staying, police said.

Fraire was apprehended and arrested for murder and attempted murder, police said.

“The relationship, if any, between the suspect and the victims remains under investigation, as does the motive,” police said in a statement on Tuesday.

Authorities noted that “evidence related to the crime was recovered,” but they did not elaborate on the potential evidence.

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