Man attacks mother, fatally stabs grandmother in the head in Palmdale, officials say

A man whom sheriff’s deputies saw walking down the street covered in blood in Palmdale on Thursday had moments earlier stabbed his mother and killed his grandmother, authorities said.

When deputies stopped Richard Flores as he walked along the 37000 block of Spring Street about 3:30 p.m., Flores “made statements to them that he was involved in the incident they were responding to,” sheriff’s officials said in a statement. He also was soaked in blood, deputies said.

Sgt. Troy Ewing of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department homicide bureau told KCBS that Flores was “somewhat incoherent” and was “sort of rambling on” when he was stopped.

Moments earlier, authorities had been called to a home in the area about the assault of a woman, officials said. When deputies arrived at the home, they found Flores’ mother with trauma to her upper body.

Flores’ mother walked deputies deeper into the home, where they found his grandmother stabbed to death, officials said. She was identified as Maria Valenzuela, 82, and had been stabbed in the head, coroner’s officials said. A weapon was recovered at the scene.

“She’s a really dear woman. I can’t believe this happened,” neighbor Trevor Livingston told KCBS.

Flores, 29, was arrested on suspicion of murder and is being held in lieu of $2 million bail. Jail records show he’s due in court Monday. A motive for the attacks has not been released.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.

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