‘Death Warrant’ Stabber Arrested and Linked to Santa Barbara Attacks
Courtney Anthony Robinson, 37, Booked in Los Angeles Detention Center
The man believed responsible for stabbing three sleeping homeless people in the Los Angeles area between July 3-19 — and who may be behind two recent knife attacks in Santa Barbara — has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, said a LAPD spokesperson.
Courtney Anthony Robinson (who uses the alias David Ben Keyes) turned himself in at around 8:40 p.m. Friday night to officers patrolling Hollywood in the area of Highland Avenue and Sunset Boulevard. According to LAPD spokesperson Officer Norma Eisenman, Robinson called 9-1-1 from a nearby fast food Chinese restaurant and identified himself as the “death warrant” stabber authorities were looking for.
He complied with arresting officers and homicide detectives who, based on interrogations at the police station and evidence found on Robinson’s person, determined the 37-year-old “is the individual responsible for the two homeless stabbings in LAPD’s jurisdiction,” said Eisenman. “Detectives also believe that Robinson is responsible for three additional stabbings, one in Santa Monica and two in the Santa Barbara area.”
Santa Barbara police spokesperson Sgt. Riley Harwood confirmed his department had been investigating Robinson as a possible suspect in the stabbings of two area homeless men. The two separate incidents occurred June 26 and July 1, and the victims were left with non-life threatening injuries. A search of Santa Barbara County court records revealed Robinson has not been arrested for any crimes in the area.
Harwood, citing the open cases, couldn’t go into detail on the Santa Barbara stabbings but stated they didn’t bear the hallmarks of the Los Angeles and Santa Monica attacks. In each of those incidents, the knife was left in the victim and a rambling “death warrant” note signed “David Ben Keyes” was found at the scene. All five stabbing victims survived, though one remains in a Los Angeles hospital.
Robinson has been booked into L.A.’s Metropolitan Detention Center, and his bail is set at $500,000. Authorities, explaining Robinson had no relation to the victims, said it appears he targeted them for a specific reason, but they have not provided additional details on a possible motive.
