Hollister
– The man suspected of killing a Hollister woman on Tuesday had
once tried to convince her to join him in a suicide pact, the
woman’s brother said Wednesday.
Hollister – The man suspected of killing a Hollister woman on Tuesday had once tried to convince her to join him in a suicide pact, the woman’s brother said Wednesday.
Victor Gomez, whose 31-year-old sister, Elizabeth Gomez, was strangled and stabbed to death in her apartment, said she told her family a year ago that her boyfriend, Samuel Turner, had asked her to join him in a suicide pact “get to God faster.”
Family members believed she had ended the relationship and were shocked to hear that Turner had reappeared in her life, Gomez said.
“It was a relationship that we hoped that my sister would avoid,” Gomez said.
Police responded to a 911 call from Elizabeth Gomez’s apartment Tuesday afternoon and found her dead. Turner, 25, was inside the apartment when they arrived, authorities said, and had suffered what Hollister Police Capt. Bob Brooks said appeared to be a self-inflicted knife wound to the scrotum.
“I don’t think the victim could have done it,” Brooks said.
Turner was taken to a San Jose area hospital and treated for his injuries, then returned to Hollister and booked into the San Benito County Jail at 4:38am Wednesday on suspicion of homicide, Brooks said.
Neighbors of Elizabeth Gomez said they knew Turner as the woman’s boyfriend. The two had been seeing each other for some time, they said, but did not live together.
The two had a “stormy relationship,” said Stella Hash, who was Elizabeth Gomez’s neighbor in the Prospect Villa II apartment complex.
Betty Jo Bochenek, a neighbor who said she often watched television with Gomez, said she saw Turner run out of the apartment complex on Sunday evening and that Gomez followed after him. Bochenek said Gomez later told her she had picked up Turner on Highway 25 and driven him to San Jose.
On Monday night, Bochenek said, she and Gomez talked on the telephone and Gomez told her Turner was with her in her apartment and that all was well.
Hash said she saw Gomez and Turner together on Monday. Gomez told her everything was fine, but Turner seemed somber, Hash said.
Daphne Weaver, Gomez’s next-door neighbor, described Gomez as quiet and shy. Turner was polite and well-mannered, she said.
“She had introduced him around to all of us,” Weaver said. “He seemed nice.”
Police were still investigating the killing on Wednesday and would not say what they had learned about the events leading up to Gomez’s death.
The 911 call from Gomez’s apartment, which police received at 3:20pm, was made by Turner, authorities said.
Police and San Benito County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the Prospect Villa II apartment complex at 3:26pm Tuesday.
Coroners took Gomez’s body from the apartment at about 9:45pm.
An autopsy Wednesday revealed that Gomez died of either strangulation or stabbing to the throat, Brooks said. Brooks said he did not know how many times Gomez was stabbed, but said the wounds were severe.
Investigators collected a knife from the scene that they believe was used to stab Gomez, Brooks said. He would not say what authorities believe was used to strangle Gomez, or what type of knife detectives collected.
Undersheriff Pat Turturici said Turner was placed on suicide watch shortly after being taken to the San Benito County Jail. While he is on suicide watch, correctional officers check on Turner every 15 minutes. Turner will likely remain on suicide watch until county mental health officials can evaluate him, Turturici said.
Turner cooperated with jail personnel during the booking process, Turturici said, but refused to answer some questions about his mental health.
Brooks would not say whether Turner had made any statements to authorities.
District Attorney Candice Hooper said Wednesday that she had not yet seen Turner’s arrest report. She said she will decide today whether to charge Turner in Gomez’s death. If charges are forthcoming, Turner will be arraigned today, she said.
Hooper said Turner’s competency to stand trial will likely be an issue.
“I’m sure there’s going to be evaluations on that,” Hooper said.
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or mv*********@fr***********.com.
