Neighbor Arrested in Killing of Woman, Rape of Daughters

A 23-year-old South San Gabriel man has been arrested for the brutal slaying of his neighbor in May and the rape of her two girls, authorities said Saturday.

Andrew Ray Arias, 23, was arrested Friday night without incident at his apartment in the 1400 block of North San Gabriel Boulevard, three months after his neighbor, Patricia Corpolongo, was found raped and bludgeoned to death in her house on the ranch property next door, authorities said.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Linnemeyer said Corpolongo’s daughters, ages 6 and 9, were also sexually assaulted during the May 4 attack. Neighbors said the woman had apparently surprised an intruder who had crept into the room of her children as they slept.

After the incident, neighbors said, the two little girls ran down the block to the home of an aunt, who called deputies.

After a lengthy investigation, detectives got an apparent break in the case Aug. 4, when two teen-age girls in the complex awoke in the middle of the night to find a man crouched beside their bed.

“My sister thought she felt the sheets move, and she woke up and yelled my name,” said Sandra Cervantes, 18. “We screamed and he ran out of the house.”

Several days later, Cervantes said, her sister identified the intruder as Arias.

Cervantes said she was told by detectives that his fingerprints matched those found at the murder scene. However, Linnemeyer would not divulge what had led them to arrest Arias.

Arias is being held without bail at the Temple City sheriff’s station, Linnemeyer said.