South LA man arrested in fatal beating, stabbing of girlfriend in front of her children

SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A South Los Angeles man has been arrested in the fatal beating and stabbing of his girlfriend in front of her children at their home.

Police announced the arrest of Richard Lara, who fled after allegedly beating and stabbing Nicole Santillanes, 38, over the weekend.

Lara is the father of two of Santillanes' four children and the two were in an on-off relationship for about 13 years.

Family members say she was killed in front of three of her four children, ages 8, 7 and 13, at their apartment complex on Broadway Avenue. She also had a 20-year-old son.

"She was like the life of the party. Everybody loved her. She was outgoing. She was very independent," said Ashley Gjurich, Santillanes' sister.

Gjurich told ABC7 she found out about her sister's death from Santillanes' 13-year-old daughter.

"She called my daughter. She was screaming like hysterically," recalled Gjurich. "My daughter thought she was joking around saying, 'Mom it's just Stevie,' and I was like, 'No, something's wrong with her. What's wrong with her?' I was like, 'Stevie, what's going on?' and she was like, 'He killed her. He killed my mom.'"

Gjurich is now taking care of seven children, including her own and now, her sister's.

Police say the attack happened Saturday night after Lara and Santillanes left their apartment together and walked to a neighborhood store. They returned home separately and then a fight broke out between them which turned physical and led to Santillanes' death.

Lara, 38, fled the scene after the attack, police say. Detectives say he was located and arrested on Tuesday and booked for murder.

The case will be presented for filing to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office on Thursday.

A GoFundMe has been started to pay for her funeral and help her family.