Yolo prosecutors, Sacramento crime techs teaming to mine leads in Davis stabbing attacks
Yolo County District Attorney’s Office investigators have joined the probe into the deadly stabbings that have struck fear in Davis and have enlisted the help of Sacramento County’s vaunted crime lab.
Two men, including a UC Davis student, have been killed in five days’ time, at the city’s Central Park and Sycamore Park. A third victim, a homeless woman in her 60s, was stabbed through her tent in her encampment Monday night and survived her attack.
“We had DA investigators out at the scene and providing support since. They did quite a bit of canvassing,” said Yolo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Raven.
A prosecutor assigned to the case was also working the scene. That attorney and an investigator are assisting with search warrants and other legal issues, Raven said.
Raven did not elaborate on where or whether search warrants had been issued, but said Yolo prosecutors have reached across the river to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office crime lab.
“We have been working with Sac DA, whose crime lab has graciously offered to conduct DNA analyses,” Raven said.
The lab’s work in DNA analysis was instrumental in cracking some of the state’s and the capital region’s most notorious cases including East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer Joseph DeAngelo; NorCal Rapist Roy Waller; and Mark Manteuffel, who brutally attacked a jogger in Davis nearly 30 years ago in 1994.
Sacramento DA officials contacted Tuesday would not discuss details of the lab’s participation in the investigation.
“Our crime lab is providing some assistance to the Davis Police Department, but as this is an active investigation, we cannot provide any details,” Sacramento County Chief Deputy District Attorney Scott Triplett said.
Homicides are rare in this city of nearly 70,000, where thousands of students attend the University of California, Davis, walking distance from the brutal attacks. Seven homicides have been reported in Davis since 2018 including a high of three in 2019. None were reported in 2021; one in 2022, according to a Davis Police Department crime review.
The unease and outright fear of the brutal knife attacks have stirred is palpable.
“We understand there is fear and trepidation right now,” Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel told reporters Tuesday. “People are asking, ‘Is it safe being out?’ Well, we’ve had three stabbings. ... This is different. These attacks are particularly violent and brazen.”
Pytel stopped short of calling for a citywide curfew, saying the resources needed to enforce one were better directed toward finding the attacker or attackers responsible for the violence. He instead urged Davis residents to “be completely aware of your surroundings,” stay in groups if outside and prioritize their personal safety.
“Crime does take life. People have to make smart choices,” the Davis chief said.
