Authorities have released details of the man accused of fatally stabbing a high school student and seriously injuring a father of three.
David Zapata, 32, now faces murder and attempted murder charges, and authorities have released information about who brought the accused to the first crime scene.
Xavier Chavarín, 17, was stabbed to death outside the King Taco restaurant in El Sereno, and it wasn’t until days later that authorities arrested Zapata.
The suspect’s family told our sister network NBC4 that they had worked hard to get help and believed the murder and attempted murder could have been prevented.
In early March, Xavier Chavarín was waiting for his mother after school in El Sereno when David Zapata randomly stabbed the straight student in the back, killing him, according to LAPD.
“It breaks my heart that he was taken from me. (He was a) perfect child,” said Laura Frías, Xavier’s mother.
Alhambra police have arrested a suspect wanted in the fatal assault on a teenager in El Sereno that occurred last Friday.
Five hours later, about a mile and a half away, police said Zapata stabbed Daniel Villalobos, a father of three.
“I just saw him come at me with a knife and he stabbed me six times. The first time was here. I have five cuts here,” said Daniel Villalobos, who survived a stab wound.
LAPD then arrested Zapata at his grandmother’s house in Alhambra.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón charged him with murder and attempted murder. At the time, he said they had no evidence that he had a history of mental health issues.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón: 40
“We have no reason to believe he is not competent today,” Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said.
But Zapata’s mother shared photos with NBCLA and said she had struggled with mental health issues for years. In fact, he says he repeatedly asked the Azusa police for help as well as the Alhambra police department, even once a month before the murder.
On February 2, Alhambra police responded to Zapata’s grandmother’s house because the family said she was threatening her with a large knife.
Officers determined he posed a danger to himself or others, so they said they took him to Exodus Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he was released hours later.
“Was it weeks before he killed the 17-year-old? Let’s clarify that point, yes,” said Joseph Markus, Zapata’s attorney.
“He had a weapon, a knife, in his possession. And they called the police about it. Yes, was it accepted? And released? Yes,” Markus said.
A month after this release, the police returned to the grandmother’s house, where they arrested Zapata for murder and attempted murder.
“The family tried to do everything possible,” Markus added.
“It’s awful. It’s a horrible circumstance that clearly could have been avoided, that everyone was trying to avoid.”
But in addition to the mental health history, they also said police are looking for the driver who took David Zapata to the crime scene in King Torta.
“We know for a fact that there was someone who took Zapata away from the first scene,” LAPD officer Ryan Rabbett said.
But late last month, the district attorney’s office quietly determined that the person who brought Zapata to King Torta would not be charged.
“It’s embarrassing and I’ll put it that way,” Markus said.
The denial says in part that “there is insufficient evidence to prove that the suspect aided and abetted the murder or was guilty of aiding and abetting after the fact,” he said. declared.
“What did they do in this investigation to verify that the driver was unaware? And how can they say that someone who pulls someone away from the scene of a murder, with a knife, is not an accomplice after the fact?” asked the defense attorney.
NBCLA posed these questions to the District Attorney’s office and they did not respond, but sent a statement that said in part, “If we receive additional evidence, we will re-evaluate the case and may file the appropriate charges at this time.”
“Dismissing the case with insufficient evidence shows a complete lack of knowledge about what is going on here,” Markus said.
So, while the case continues to move through the courts, it appears that police and prosecutors have failed to update the public on some key developments.
And David Zapata’s family believes that these events prove that the system has failed…
NBCLA contacted Exodus Medical Center to ask why Zapata was released in February. An interview with the families of Xavier Chavarín and Daniel Villalobos has also been requested.