LOS ANGELES (AP) — A fake name was written on notes found at the scenes of stabbings of three homeless people in the Los Angeles-area, police said Friday.
Los Angeles police Lt. Andy Neiman said Los Angeles and Santa Monica detectives discovered through investigative legwork that "David Ben Keyes" is not the man's real name.
Police expect to release the man's real name and a recent photo of him with a beard shortly, Neiman said.
Police on Thursday appealed to the public to help find the man, who is considered a "person of interest" and is wanted for questioning. He is not a suspect at this time.
"We're not sure what his connection is," Neiman said.
The typewritten notes, labeled "death warrants," were left at the scenes of the stabbings, which occurred this month in Santa Monica, downtown Los Angeles, and Hollywood. Keyes' name appeared on all three notes, but police would not reveal their contents.
Police believe the man could be homeless and may be from the Santa Barbara area, said police Commander Andrew Smith.
Two men and a woman, all in their 50s, survived the attacks though one remains hospitalized.
The victims are all in their 50s and were stabbed in the back in the early morning hours as they slept, Smith said.
Police are warning homeless people to seek shelter at night and avoid sleeping alone in the streets.
"Any homeless person sleeping anywhere outside is vulnerable tonight — more vulnerable than usual," Smith said.
Homeless people on Skid Row in Los Angeles said they would try to band together to stay safe overnight.
"You just try to stick among ones that you can actually trust and all that so you can watch each other's backs," Roland Roller, who sleeps on Skid Row, told NBC4-TV.
The first stabbing came July 3 in downtown Los Angeles, and is the only stabbing where a witness saw a suspect fleeing the scene, Smith said.
The second stabbing came Tuesday, when a man was stabbed as he slept on a bench in Santa Monica. A passerby responded to the victim's cry for help and called police, Sgt. Richard Lewis said.
The most recent stabbing on Thursday targeted a woman who was sleeping in the Hollywood area.
Detectives have discovered that a fake name appeared on notes left at the scenes of three stabbings of homeless people in the Los Angeles area.
Los Angeles police Lt. Andy Neiman said Friday the man's real name and a recent photo of him with a beard will be released to the public shortly.
Police said Thursday they were seeking to question David Ben Keyes, whose name appeared on notes labeled "death warrants" left this month in Santa Monica, Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles.
The victims were stabbed in the back as they slept. All three survived, although one remains hospitalized.
