Sheriff’s officials confirmed Wednesday that a man serving jail time in San Bernardino for auto theft has been linked by DNA to the December murders of a La Verne businessman and his wife.
Luke Fabela, 23, has been behind bars since mid-January, according to the Sheriff’s Department. Although DNA has linked him to the Dec. 26 killings of 89-year-old Armie “Troy” Isom and his 74-year-old wife Shirley, investigators have not determined a motive for the crime, according to the department’s Nicole Nishida.
Isom and his wife were found by a groundskeeper at their multimillion- dollar home abutting open land in an unincorporated area near La Verne.
The woman died from blunt force injuries and her husband died later in the day from being beaten and stabbed, authorities said.
Nishida said Fabela will serve his time in San Bernardino before being brought to Los Angeles for a trial here. She said detectives presented their case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, but prosecutors have requested additional investigation.
A suspect was earlier identified from a video that showed a person wearing a hooded jacket and carrying a backpack.
Nishida said it was unknown if the killings may have been precipitated by several pending lawsuits involving Isom, who was a wealthy businessman.
In March, Darci S. Isom, the daughter of Armie Isom, filed suit against the daughter of Shirley Isom, alleging fraud and elder abuse. She accused Mischelynn Scarlatelli of conspiring to take control of the estate, “thereby altering the rights of inheritance of daughter Darci and her brother and sister.”
—City News Service