San Bernardino Police say Ashley Atherley was beaten and stabbed to death over the weekend and left in the bathroom inside her apartment at 2605 W. College Avenue.
Police said family members had not heard from Ashley Atherley for a few days and were concerned for her welfare. On Sunday, officers met family members at the apartment, obtained a pass key from the management and entered, police said. The investigation revealed she had been stabbed and died some time between the 29th and the 1st.
The suspect in the case is her own husband, Edly Atherley, who's still on the loose.
"This man is an animal, he has a rotted heart, and he needs to suffer for what he did to her," said Lucia Robles, Ashley Atherley's mother.
The family says there was history of domestic violence. Police say Ashley had just filed for divorce.
Edly Atherley was previously arrested in 2008 for battery/domestic violence after an altercation with Ashley in which he grabbed her, pushed her and threw her to the floor. The incident reportedly occurred in front of the couple's 5-and-a-half-month-old daughter.
"She was in a domestic abusive relationship, and she was on her way out, she was almost out," said Ashley's father, Scott Hall. "She had a travel pack, she was ready to go, she got her own place. From the last attack she was scared, scared for her life. We wanted her to come home. But he got to her before we had that chance."
Police think Edly Atherley is still in San Bernardino. They say a security guard spotted him trying to buy a Metrolink ticket Wednesday night, but he ran away.
Police think that Edly Atherley was trying to buy a ticket to Union Station in downtown L.A. He does have family in that area, as well as in Sylmar and Valencia.
"His family has been very cooperative with us," said San Bernardino Police Detective Carl Williams. "We have been in contact with them several times, and at this point they would like to see him turn himself in also."
"He's gotta pay, he's an animal," said Hall. "He's been an animal ever since I've known him."
If you know where Edly Atherley is or if you see him, you're asked to call police.
