Lyft passenger ‘stabs his heavily pregnant driver and her unborn child to death’, steals victim’s vehicle and flees 150 miles across the state line from Phoenix to California
Pregnant Lyft driver, Kristina Howato, 39, was in her third trimester when she was attacked in Tempe, AZ on Jan 27
Fabian Durazo, 20, drove nearly 150 miles before being arrested for fatally stabbing the mother-of-three multiple times on Sunday morning
Durazo reportedly, attacked the driver with a knife while she was inside the car before continuing the attack once she exited her SUV
Cops used the vehicles GPS to track him and take him into custody, 150 miles away inside the California border
He’s being held at La Paz County jail, after allegedly admitting to stabbing Howato and stealing her car
Durazo is facing two counts of first-degree murder and one count each of kidnapping and armed robbery
Fabian Durazo [photo], was arrested 150 miles before being arrested held at La Paz County jail on suspicion of two counts of first-degree murder and one count each of kidnapping and armed robbery
A Lyft passenger in Arizona stabbed his pregnant driver to death and killed her unborn child in the process before driving off in her sports utility vehicle, police have said.
Kristina Howato, 39, was in her third trimester when she was allegedly attacked by Fabian Durazo, 20, on January 27.
Durazo stabbed the mother-of-three with a knife while she was inside the car before continuing the attack once she exited her SUV, Tempe police said.
Police said they don’t believe Durazo and Howato knew each other and a motive for the fatal attack remains undetermined.
Kristina Howato, 39, was in her third trimester when she was allegedly attacked by Fabian Durazo 20, on January 27
Investigators used GPS to track the SUV, and police eventually stopped it over just east of Quartzsite along I-10 later in the day Sunday. DPS tried to pull Durazo over, but he kept going, so troopers used a spike strip to disable the vehicle.
After initially refusing to get out of the SUV, Durazo eventually complied and was arrested by DPS and La Paz County deputies, a DPS spokesperson said.
The suspect was booked into the La Paz County jail, where he admitted stabbing Howato and taking her car, a Tempe police said.
Durazo drove nearly 150 miles before being arrested near the California line and was being held at La Paz County jail where he admitted stabbing Howato and taking her car. He is held on suspicion of two counts of first-degree murder and one count each of kidnapping and armed robbery, authorities said.
Howato was working when she received a pickup request in west Tempe, said Sgt. Ron Elcock, a police spokesman. She picked up Durazo near McClintock and Rio Salado Parkway, in Tempe.
The suspect allegedly attacked Howato when they arrived at an apartment complex around a half-mile away before fleeing in her SUV.
As she was dropping him off, police say he began stabbing her while she was inside her SUV. He continued to stab her as she got out of the car, and he took the vehicle.
Tempe police on Monday identified the pregnant woman who was stabbed to death over the weekend as Kristina Howato, 39, as well as Fabian Durazo, the man investigators believe killed her.
Police officers responded to the apartment complex around 1:30am after receiving reports of a woman screaming in the parking lot.
They found Howato suffering from multiple stab wounds. She was transported to a hospital where both she and the unborn baby died.
Arizona Department of Public Safety officials used GPS tracking to locate the stolen SUV on Interstate 10 near Quartzsite, about 25 miles from the Arizona-California line and Durazo was taken into custody on January 27.
‘Throughout our careers as officers, we have incidents that really, really touch our hearts and stay with you throughout your careers,’ Elcock said at a news conference.
‘This is definitely one of those incidents that really is going to affect the police department for a long time.’
Lyft said it is assisting with the investigation, adding that the passenger’s account has been permanently deactivated.
A statement from officials with San Francisco-based Lyft said: ‘We were shocked and deeply saddened to learn of this tragedy, and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims.’
Howato is survived by two other young children, aged two and four,
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