Young Man Found Fatally Stabbed in Buena Clinton Apartment : Acquaintance of Victim Is Arrested but Police Say No Motive Established

A young man who lived in Garden Grove’s notorious Buena Clinton slum was found fatally stabbed on a neighbor’s bed early Saturday morning.

A few hours later, police arrested Mario Hernandez, 29, on suspicion of murder in the death of Antonio Rodriguez, 26, police Sgt. Paul Figner said.

Authorities called to the apartment, at 12702 Keel Ave., about 3 a.m. found Rodriguez lying on a bed, shirtless but otherwise fully clothed. He had been stabbed once in the chest, Figner said. Rodriguez was taken to UCI Medical Center, where he died about an hour later.

The apartment is directly across the street from the two-bedroom home where Rodriguez was renting a room from a family. Police Detective Ron Shave, in charge of the investigation, said the suspect, Hernandez, might have been living in the apartment where Rodriguez was found. Neighbors said it was the home of Hernandez’s sister, Teresa Menchaca.

It was Menchaca who notified police of the stabbing, Shave said, and she was questioned but not held. Menchaca had lived in the apartment less than a month, but lived in a building nearby for several years, neighbors said. Rodriguez and Hernandez were acquainted, Figner said.

No Disputes Reported No motive for the slaying has been established, Shave said. Several neighbors said they knew of no disputes or arguments between the two men.

A kitchen knife with a 10-inch blade and a broken handle was found in a tree just outside the apartment, but investigators said they did not think it was the murder weapon. Debris, but no blood, could be seen on the blade. Several other knives were confiscated.

The slaying was the first this year in Buena Clinton, considered Orange County’s worst slum.

Frank Sierra, Rodriguez’s roommate, said he had known Rodriguez for five or six months and that he “got along with everybody” and was not prone to fighting.

Sierra said Saturday that he had no idea why Rodriguez was killed. “He was up here with me last night, then he went out. He said, ‘I’ll be back,’ then took off,” Sierra said.

Rodriguez, who came from Guadalajara, Mexico, spoke English well, and was divorced. He had been working for a Santa Ana firm for several years, making windows for recreational vehicles. His employer described him as “one of my lead men and highest-paid employees.”

Bob Petersen, the factory owner, said he had come to depend on Rodriguez. “This is a real blow to me, businesswise as well as personally. It’s a great loss.”

Rodriguez was a “good, easy-going big fella, about 200 pounds--maybe more--and good natured,” Petersen said. “Big guys don’t have to be disagreeable.”

He called the stabbing “a real puzzle. I don’t think he had any domestic problems,” Petersen said.

Carmen Villa, from whom Rodriguez rented his room, said the young man had lived with her family about six months. She described him as a friendly, quiet person whose most prized possessions were his television set and videocassette recorder.

Neighbors notified Rodriguez’s father in Guadalajara, and he is reportedly on his way to California to make funeral arrangements, Villa said.

Hernandez was being held on $250,000 bail in the Orange County Jail.