Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Arraignment Delayed for Double Homicide Suspect

Zackariah Lehnen, who is accused of killing Lucien Bergez and Erica Escobar in a Culver City home, will be formally charged June 7.

The arraignment of Zackariah Lehnen—a 31-year-old transient charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Lucien Bergez and Erica Escobar—has been postponed to June 7, per Shiara Dávila-Morales of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. 

Bergez and Escobar were discovered in a Culver City home May 3. Lehnen could face the death penalty.

"We have a pretty good case against Lehnen," Capt. Dave Tankenson of the Culver City Police Department said in an interview with Patch.

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Lehnen is accused of fatally stabbing and beating Bergez and Escobar, who were found in a home in the 4000 block of Huron Avenue. Escobar was a resident of Santa Monica.

The criminal complaint against Lehnen alleges multiple murders, murder during the course of a robbery and murder involving the infliction of torture.

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Lehnen, who was arrested in West Hollywood on May 5, is the only suspect in connection with the double homicide. According to parolee documents, Lehnen was released late last year on non-revocable parole status, which is a new California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation measure that allows "low-level" parolees to be out in society without supervision. Critics have condemned the new law as a mere cost-saving measure that allows those who need supervision to be without it.

Chief Donald Pedersen of the Culver City Police Department held a news conference May 5 to discuss the details of the arrest, though the information released was limited. According to Pedersen, a maid who frequently visits Bergez to care for him called police May 3 at approximately 10 a.m: “She saw something she believed was a cause for concern and called us,” he said.

Pedersen declined to comment on where in the house the bodies were found or whether a struggle was apparent.

Through “investigative means,” said Pedersen, Lehnen was identified as a primary suspect in the case and was tracked to an alley in West Hollywood where he resides on a part-time basis. He was arrested without incident, and no weapons were found on him. Pedersen confirmed that Lehnen has a criminal record, including arrests for domestic violence and narcotics.

According to the police department, both victims had been seen in the surrounding area with Lehnen on at least one occasion, though a motive for the crime has not been determined.

“It is not our belief that this was a random crime," Pedersen said at the news conference. “We have reason to believe that there was a previous relationship between all three individuals, but what that relationship is I don’t know. It is under investigation.”

As of May 24, no new information had been released regarding the investigation, including the relationship among the victims and the suspect, said Lt. Ronald Iizuka of the Culver City Police Department.

Members of the public are being asked to contact the police department at 310-253-6309 if they have further information about this ongoing investigation.

City News Service contributed to this report.


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