A California woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder after allegedly fatally stabbing her mother while livestreaming on Facebook, police said.
Police responded Monday night to multiple reports of a physical fight and stabbing at an apartment complex in the Terra Linda neighborhood of San Rafael, according to the San Rafael Police Department.
Officers arrived to a gruesome scene. The mother, identified by the Marin County Coroner's Office as Olivia Lucia Beltran Pacheco, 55, was found with numerous stab wounds on a balcony at the back of an apartment, police said in a news release.
Her daughter, Tonantzyn Oris Beltrán, 28, was standing next to her with a knife in her hand and her clothes soaked in blood. She “did not respond easily to the officers' commands and instructions” and she was taken into custody, police said.
Paramedics took Pacheco to a hospital, where he later died.
“Hospital staff made every effort to save the victim's life, but were unable to overcome the serious life-threatening injuries,” police said. She was pronounced dead 90 minutes later.
Initial calls about the incident came from witnesses at the scene and from people who watched the stabbing on Facebook Live, where Beltran was broadcasting, police said. Detectives worked with Meta, Facebook's parent company, to remove the video.
Investigators also determined that Beltran had produced content on several social media platforms, including a video taken in the lobby of the Santa Rosa Police Department on the day of the stabbing.
“We are working with the Santa Rosa Police Department on this portion of the investigation and they are reviewing what occurred,” police said.
Pacheco was described by the Marin Independent Journal as a “community activist who helped immigrants and residents in the Canal de San Rafael neighborhood.” Several people expressed their condolences on Facebook.
“This is a huge loss for the community that constantly benefited from their work on a daily basis,” one person wrote.
“Thank you so much for all the help you gave me and my family,” wrote another.
Beltran remains in custody and is being held without bail, sheriff's records show. An investigation into the incident is underway.
“The San Rafael Police Department understands that this is a tragic loss of life and extends its condolences to the victim's family,” they said.
