LANCASTER, Calif. (AP) — A veteran Los Angeles County deputy probation officer was killed in what investigators believe was a random attack inside her Southern California home over the weekend, authorities said Tuesday.
The suspect, whose identity has not been released, has been booked on suspicion of homicide, according to Lt. Michael Gomez of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department homicide bureau.
The man allegedly shattered a sliding door at the back of Paula Lind’s Lancaster home on Sunday and attacked her with an unspecified weapon, Gomez told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Lind, a 16-year veteran of the agency, “was a victim of a home invasion where she suffered fatal injuries,” the LA County Probation Department said in a statement Monday.
Gomez said Lind and the suspect did not appear to know each other. The lieutenant said detectives expect criminal charges to be filed on Tuesday. He would not say what kind of weapon was used in the bloodshed.
The suspect is an unhoused man who lives in the Lancaster area, Gomez said.
Lind suffered severe head trauma and was declared dead at the scene on Sunday.
“Our hearts are heavy today," Chief Probation Officer Adolfo Gonzales said in Monday's statement. “Our officers work daily to help folks start over and rebuild their lives; their work helps keep communities safe. It is horrifying to hear that one of our beloved officers passed in this manner.”
The probation department's honor guard escorted Lind's remains in a procession to the county coroner’s office.
