Police Called to a Second Death on the Eastside
Man Taken into Custody, Deceased Woman Found in Apartment
A second death has taken place on Santa Barbara’s Eastside in four days, this one under circumstances that the police have yet to call a crime. At around 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday, police dispatchers began to receive several calls from an apartment complex at 13 South Soledad Street. The first officers to respond took a man into custody amid what SBPD spokesperson Anthony Wagner described as a “chaotic” situation. They then found a woman dead inside an apartment.
On Friday, Alberto Suarez Torres had been found stabbed around 1 a.m. approximately two blocks away on Cacique Street. He later died of his wounds. Wagner stated the two incidents were unrelated.
At the Soledad Street scene, Wagner said the death was still under investigation. He was unable to say what had caused the woman’s death or if she lived at the apartment complex, which was under the management of the Housing Authority for the City of Santa Barbara.
The director of the Housing Authority came to the scene to meet with the people who lived there. “It’s tragic when something like this happens,” Rob Fredericks said. His group was offering counseling services as many of the families who lived there were very concerned.
