Man charged in connection with alleged 2014 Oxnard murder of father after school drop off
A man is set to be charged in connection with the 2014 killing of a Ventura County father who was stabbed to death shortly after dropping off his child at school, according to authorities.
The Oxnard Police Department announced during a news conference on Monday that an arrest warrant was served on Thursday after a suspect was identified in the murder of Labh Nigah, 55, of Oxnard.
Around 8:43 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2014, officers responded to Sierra Linda Park after reports of a battery. Upon arrival, officers found a man with multiple stab wounds with a "lengthy" blood trail running behind him.
The man, later identified as Nigah, was pronounced dead at the scene. He was a convenience store clerk who lived in the neighborhood with his wife, son and two daughters, and immigrated to the U.S. from India.
Authorities say that Nigah dropped his son off at nearby Sierra Linda Elementary School before taking a walk through the park. At the park, he was randomly attacked and stabbed several times.
"This was a truly heinous crime," said Oxnard Police Chief Jason Benites. "This occurred in broad daylight, in a public park, next to an elementary school that was in session."
Benites said school staff, teachers and students witnessed the slaying.
In the ensuing investigation and search for a suspect, composite sketches were designed and witnesses were interviewed. DNA evidence didn't match anyone in a database at the time.
"Advances in science, our partnership and the determination to persist with cold case homicides made this arrest possible," Benites said.
The suspect was identified as 32-year-old Jose Jimenez, who lived mere blocks from the scene of the alleged crime.
According to Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko, the proper storage of evidence and DNA in 2014 led to that information being available for additional testing in the present day. Advanced genealogy testing eventually led to the identification of a sibling of Jimenez, who was located in Houston.
Three criminal enhancements will be issued in addition to the murder charge, including for allegedly using a knife as the weapon, doing so in a "particularly cruel, vicious and callous manner," and for ambushing a defenseless victim.
There's no evidence that Nigah and Jimenez knew each other before the alleged slaying, Nasarenko said.
Jimenez is set to appear Monday afternoon in a Ventura County courtroom for an arraignment hearing. His bail is currently set at $500,000, although prosecutors have requested he be held on no bail.