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BURBANK, Calif. () — A suspect has been arrested after a mother was killed and her daughter injured in a stabbing attack inside a Burbank home, police announced Tuesday.
The two woman were found stabbed in the home on North Brighton Street Monday morning. Arti Varmi, 59, died from her injuries, while her daughter remains hospitalized in stable condition.
More than 12 hours later, 30-year-old Sergio Fraire was taken into custody after a search warrant was served at a home in the city on East Palm Avenue, where he was believed to be staying. Police say evidence related to the stabbing was recovered.
Fraire was booked for murder and attempted murder, though a motive in the deadly attack has not been determined.
It’s unclear if the suspect had any relationship with the victims.
This is breaking news story and will be updated. A previous version is below.
A mother was killed and her daughter was injured after a stabbing attack inside a Burbank home, family friends said. Police are searching for the suspect.
Officers were called to the 2800 block of North Brighton Street around 6 a.m. Monday following a report of a stabbing, police said.
Police found two women with stab wounds. Both were taken to a hospital, where one of the victims later died.
Police have not released the names of the victims, but neighbor Victor Goli said the victims are a mother and daughter. Goli identified the victims as Arti Varma and her daughter Meera Varma.
Goli said Arti died from her wounds and Meera was critically injured and is in the hospital fighting for her life.
“It was kind of a shock to hear just a few minutes ago that their house was broken into,” Goli told Eyewitness News.
Arti was a first-grade teacher at Bret Harte Elementary School in the Burbank school district. She is the second teacher at the school to be killed in the last two years.
“She was an amazing teacher, and she loved being a teacher,” the victim’s friend Cristina Strattan said. “She was such a bright light. She was always so joyful, so proud of her kids.”
Meera is a nationally known mental health activist who has worked alongside well-known figures including Oprah Winfrey, former President Joe Biden, former first lady Jill Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Friends said Arti loved to celebrate her culture and decorated her home for Diwali.
Neighbors said the attack has been difficult to process and wonder who would attack the mother and daughter.
“Is it something that we have to worry about as a neighborhood?” Strattan said. “If it’s someone they know that makes it even harder to process because they were such a good people. I can’t imagine someone would intentionally want to hurt them.”
Goli said Arti’s husband and Meera’s father is currently in India.
“He couldn’t even speak right… He was crying,” Goli said when asked how the husband reacted.
A neighbor said she shared surveillance video with police showing the suspect leaving the crime scene.
A motive for the attack has not been released.
“The relationship, if any, between the suspect and the victims remains under investigation,” Burbank police said.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact police.
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