Murder charge filed in South San Jose killing
Suspect, undocumented immigrant, remains in custody without bail
Carlos Eduardo Arevalo- Carranza appeared in court Thursday to face a charge of murder in connection with the killing of Bambi Larson in her South San Jose home on Feb. 28.
Police say Arevalo- Carranza, 24, broke into Larson’s house on Knollfield Way and stabbed her to death early on the morning of Feb. 28. She was found in her bedroom the next afternoon by a coworker and her son, who became concerned when she did not show up for work, authorities said.
Arevalo- Carranza, who lived in San Jose but was originally from El Salvador, was seen on a neighbor’s surveillance camera, according to court documents, and DNA testing linked him to a T- shirt found by investigators near Larson’s home after the crime.
The case has sparked a political firestorm in Santa Clara County and in national media, after federal immigration authorities said Tuesday that they had asked law enforcement to detain ArevaloCarranza nine times in recent years. Arevalo- Carranza was arrested several times during those years on drug, burglary and other charges in Santa Clara County and in Los Angeles, but was never held for immigration officials.
The hearing Thursday in San Jose lasted less than a minute. Arevalo-Carranza appeared in the courtroom shackled and wearing a brown jail sweatshirt over an orange jumpsuit, and stood next to an interpreter and attorney Charles Hendrickson of the Santa Clara County Public De- fender Office.
Arevalo- Carranza did not speak during the hearing, nor did he enter a plea to the single murder charge filed by prosecutors, which carries special circumstances for burglary and mayhem that make him eligible for the death penalty. Attorneys at Thursday’s hearing postponed his arraignment until his next court appearance, scheduled for May 17.
Arevalo- Carranza remains in custody without bail at the Santa Clara County Jail.
Prosecutors distributed a statement about the case from Larson’s family ahead of Thursday’s hearing.
“The family of Bambi Larson wishes to thank the San Jose Police Department for their countless hours and persistence in gathering the evidence necessary to arrest the person responsible for Bambi’s death,” the statement read. “We thank the community for their support, thoughts and prayers and ask for privacy as we grieve the loss of
Bambi.”
Sur vei l lance video from homes near Larson’s showed a man walking up to her home around 4:30 a.m. on Feb. 28, authorities said, then walking back down the street about half an hour later.
Police said Tuesday that they have not established any connection between Larson, 59, and Arevalo-Carranza before the crime. Larson lived alone, police said.
Police said Arevalo- Carranza had Larson’s Kindle tablet and cellphone when he was arrested, as well as a knife, boots that matched bloody shoe prints found at the home and a backpack similar to one seen in security video.
Santa Clara County Chief Assistant District Attorney Jay Boyarsky said prosecutors are still deciding whether to seek the death penalty in the case.
Although Gov. Gavin Newsom this week instituted a statewide moratorium on the death penalty, Boyarsky noted the governor’s action is a temporary measure that only halts executions as long as he is in office.
“It had no impact on any of the individual district attorney offices’ obligations or responsibilities on whether to seek the imposition of the death penalty,” Boyarsky said.
Speaking with reporters outside the courthouse, Boyarsky declined to answer questions about what prosecutors believe motivated the crime. He also declined to comment on the criticism leveled by San Jose’s mayor and police chief of the county’s policy of not honoring federal detainers for undocumented immigrants, or notifying Immigration and Customs Enforcement when someone with one of those orders is in their custody.
“There’s a time and a place for politics and policy, but today, we’re here to express our condolences to the Larson family, and to let you know that we’re going to hold Mr. Carranza accountable for this murder,” Boyarsky said.