Authorities have arrested two Castroville women suspected of
stabbing a Watsonville woman in San Juan Bautista and leaving her
in a field along Highway 156 on June 13, according to the San
Benito County Sheriff’s Office.
HOLLISTER
Authorities have arrested two Castroville women suspected of stabbing a Watsonville woman in San Juan Bautista and leaving her in a field along Highway 156 on June 13, according to the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office.
With cooperation from the Watsonville Police Department, local detectives identified and arrested the two suspects, 39-year-old Lynda J. Hernandez and 18-year-old Sadie Stephens, who are roommates, said Detective Ed Nino with the sheriff’s office.
Authorities arrested the suspects after receiving information from the victim on the suspects. A judge has set bail for each at $550,000, and they remain in custody at the San Benito County Jail.
Watsonville police located the suspects Friday in that city, where investigators questioned them before the arrests on suspicion of kidnapping and attempted murder, the detective said.
“This arrest couldn’t have happened without the cooperation of the Watsonville Police Department,” Nino said.
Nino explained that the three were together in Watsonville in the early evening on June 13, a Saturday, and had driven to the San Juan area. There had been an “ongoing” feud between the women, who all are associates in Watsonville, Nino said.
The victim, age 34, was stabbed that night all over her body and left near the highway near Monterey Street, where she stayed overnight before being discovered near the shoulder the following morning. She was airlifted to a Bay Area hospital and survived.
