Marine Corps Veteran Stabbed To Death In Hemet

HEMET (CBSLA.com) — A U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served overseas was killed on Father's Day in the Inland Empire.

Nick Males of Whittier was stabbed to death in the parking lot of a bar on Harvard Street in Hemet early Sunday morning. His family says he served overseas from 2007 to 2010 as a lance corporal.

"I love him so much," said Joe Males, his father. "He was my best friend."

The 28-year-old Males was a father of three himself with another child on the way when he was killed. His 3-year-old daughter still doesn't understand.

"She keeps wanting to go home and see her daddy. 'I want to go home. I want to see my daddy,' " Males said.

Hemet police said Males was with friends, walking by when a large group of people attacked. He and another person, who remains unidentified, were stabbed. That person survived, while Males died at the hospital.

His family now wants to honor his memory and his service.

"I'm sitting on my couch, and I look at the door, waiting for him to walk in," his dad said. "I feel his presence, you know, but I know he's never going to walk in."

The Males family is asking anyone with information to come forward. They feel someone knows who is responsible.