Coroner identifies man killed in Newhall stabbing, suspect in custody
Tammy Murga
Homicide detectives search for evidence in a deadly stabbing in Newhall on Friday, May 15, 2020. Dan Watson/ The Signal
Medical examiners with the L.A. County Coroner's Office identified the man killed in a Newhall stabbing late Friday night, and a suspect is now in custody. The fatal attack is believed to be connected to a separate stabbing, according to law enforcement officials.
Sean Lewis Driggs, 51, a transient, was pronounced dead Friday, according to Lt. Rudy Molano with the Coroner's Office, who confirmed that a suspect was in custody but did not release a name.
A 27-year-old man, Steven Trujillo, was arrested on suspicion of murder around 12:30 a.m. Saturday, and is being held in lieu of $2 million bail at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station. The L.A. County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau has not yet confirmed that the man is the same suspect in connection to the fatal attack on Driggs.
Investigators work at the scene of a fatal stabbing that occurred at Lyons Station shopping plaza in Newhall on Friday night. Dan Watson/the Signal
The deadly incident took place on the 23400 block of Lyons Avenue at approximately 11:33 p.m., where SCV Sheriff's Station deputies responded to a call of a possible assault with a deadly weapon. Upon arrival, law enforcement found Driggs on the scene with multiple stab wounds.
Homicide Bureau detectives believed the deadly attack was related to an earlier incident Friday night that resulted in one person hospitalized, according to Lt. Robert Westphal.
Just after 11 p.m., SCV deputies had received reports of a stabbing near a 7-Eleven on Lyons Avenue but did not find any victims or suspects. They later responded to additional reports of a stabbing at an apartment complex on the 25700 block of Hogan Drive in Valencia at around 11:26 p.m., where they found a victim. The person was transported to a hospital, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department spokeswoman Imy McBride.
Tammy Murga covers government and politics for The Signal. She joined in the summer of 2018, previously working in Northern California as an assistant editor and reporter for the Lake County Record-Bee. In 2016, she graduated from Mount Saint Mary's University, Los Angeles. Have a story tip? Message her on Twitter (@tammyxmurga) or at [email protected]