Alleged mistress of Walnut Creek double murder suspect arrested, authorities say
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (KGO) -- Police have arrested a second person in connection to the killing of two women in Walnut Creek earlier this month. One man is accused of slashing his wife and his mother-in-law to death, and now an alleged girlfriend is tied to the crime.
The 45-year-old alleged girlfriend of the murder suspect is now in jail in Martinez. Authorities say she broke into the home where the murders took place and stole evidence - specifically cellphones - and then destroyed and disposed of the evidence in trash cans near where she lives in Oakland.
"The allegations against her are accessory after the fact of a double murder case which means she had knowledge of the crime that was committed and she concealed it from our investigators knowingly," a spokesperson for the Contra Costa County DA's office said.
RELATED: Walnut Creek man charged with murder for allegedly killing his wife, mother-in-law
The 43-year-old murder suspect is charged with two murders, allegedly slashing his wife and his mother in law to death in their Walnut Creek home on Sept. 18. The couple's two 8-year-old twins were home at the time of the killings. They are now in protective custody. Investigators say the suspect called 911 himself and then fired several shots from a handgun claiming he was trying to shoot an intruder. He was arrested and charged the next day.
Last week, the alleged girlfriend showed up at court and got into an altercation with the victim's families before his scheduled arraignment. That arraignment was rescheduled to Oct. 3.
Tuesday in court, the judge postponed the alleged girlfriend's arraignment to the same date and time since the cases are linked. The victim's family gave a thumbs up after the judge set no bail, citing the girlfriend as a danger to the public and a threat to the surviving children. That alleged girlfriend also has two children in Oakland.
Family of the murder victims say they have not yet made plans for a memorial.
