64-year-old woman stabbed to death in random attack while walking her dogs in Riverside

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- A 64-year-old woman was stabbed to death as she walked her dogs in a Riverside neighborhood and a 23-year-old transient woman has been arrested on suspicion of her murder.

Around 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, officers received several calls of a woman down on Golden Avenue, near Stonewall Drive in the La Sierra neighborhood, according to the Riverside Police Department. When police arrived, the woman was found bleeding.

The victim, who police say was "randomly confronted and attacked" by the suspect, was identified as Ke Chieh Meng. She was taken to a local hospital with stab wounds to her abdomen area but later succumbed to her injuries.

"Shortly after, our dispatch center began receiving calls from neighbors reporting a transient woman walking through their yards and appearing suspicious," according to a press release from the department.

Officers checked the area and detained the suspect, Darlene Stephanie Montoya from Monterey Park. She was later booked for murder, weapons violation and suspicion of being under the influence of an illegal substance. She is being held without bail.

It was the second time last week that Montoya was arrested by Riverside police. On Tuesday, she was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after she allegedly attacked a woman with a skateboard on Tyler Avenue at the 91 Freeway, according to police.

She was booked and released with a Notice to Appear citation due to an emergency bail schedule prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

City News Service contributed to this report.