Mentally Disabled 60-Year-Old Murdered Christmas Eve: Police Have Leads
Authorities say a witness has come forward in the vicious Christmas Eve murder of 60-year-old mentally disabled woman Eva Tice.
The 4’11" Tice went to Christmas Eve Mass at 6 p.m. The service ended approximately an hour later. As she was walking home around 7 p.m., Tice was brutally attacked by an unknown assailant and stabbed multiple times in the chest.
She was found drenched in blood with her Bible right next to her on the pavement.
According to KTLA, detectives cannot yet be entirely sure of the motive for the crime. She lived just three blocks away.
"Somewhere between 11th and 12th [streets] she was attacked. I mean, I'm talking brutally attacked. She was stabbed multiple times in the chest," said LAPD Detective David Alvarez to KABC-TV local news.
Witnesses reported hearing moaning and going outside only to see a man running away. Tice was then found on the ground on Pacific between 11th and 12 streets in San Pedro, Ca.
Tice was a regular in church. According to Daily Mail, she didn’t often miss service at Hope Chapel and was excited for Christmas.
Because of her disability, she had to become a ward of the state after her parents died in a car accident. She was also a church usher.
Tice was married to a mentally disabled man for many years who passed just six months ago. She was recently engaged. She died on her way to the hospital.
Frank Gomez, Tice’s pastor, told KTLA.com that “She was faithful. She was here all the time, at almost every service.”
Friends of the mentally disabled senior say she had the mental capacity of a 6-year-old child and had a bad hip, which rendered her defenseless against her attacker.
According to KABC-TV, the suspect is described as a white or Hispanic male with a medium build. He may be 30 to 35 years old, with a shaved or bald head.
Alvarez believes robbery could have been the suspect's motive.
