A 25-year-old man is in custody after allegedly murdering his own mother and decapitating her body just hours before her surprise birthday party.
Police were called to a Glendale home on the evening of September 27th after a woman discovered her sister, Teresa De Jesus Cruz Rubio, 49, dead inside. Rubio’s family had become concerned when she didn’t arrive at her birthday celebration. Upon entering her apartment, they were met with a horrific scene.
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“There was blood everywhere,” said Sgt. Bryan Hoskin of the Glendale Police Department. The shower was running, and a blood-soaked knife, apparently hastily cleaned, was found in the kitchen sink. Rubio’s body was discovered under a blanket, decapitated, and with multiple stab wounds.
The victim’s son, Alejandro Gonzalez, who lived with her, was immediately a suspect. Surveillance footage showed him driving away in Rubio’s GMC Yukon earlier that evening. Gonzalez, who police say has a history of mental health issues, was later apprehended in Phoenix with blood on his clothes and injuries to his hands and arms.
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During questioning, Gonzalez confessed to the killing, claiming he had used meth and that another person was involved. However, investigators have found no evidence to support his claim of an accomplice.
Gonzalez, who was recently released from jail after an arrest for vandalism, is now facing charges of first-degree murder and theft of means of transportation. This tragic incident has left a family devastated and a community in shock.
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