Menlo Park woman to be tried for murder Menlo Park woman to be tried for murder (January 26, 2005)

Bay City News Service

A Menlo Park woman accused of stabbing her boyfriend to death will stand trial for murder, Superior Court Judge Thomas McGinn Smith ruled on January 18.

Blanca Estella Rivas, 23, allegedly stabbed Jose Arita, 21, in the throat after the two argued at a birthday party held at the couple's Hamilton Avenue home on August 8.

Ms. Rivas then allegedly stabbed herself in the neck. She spent two weeks recovering from her injuries in intensive care before her arrest, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.

Menlo Park police arrived at the couple's home about 6:30 p.m. on August 8 and found Mr. Arita lying dead in the hallway and Ms. Rivas lying seriously injured nearby, with a knife protruding from her neck.

Salvado Valle, whose family owns the Hamilton Avenue house, testified in court January 18 that he was watching TV when he heard a man and woman arguing outside the front door.

"The man said, 'This is it, this is the last time, I'm going to kill you now,''' Mr. Valle testified. Mr. Arita then pushed Ms. Rivas inside the house, but upon seeing Mr. Valle on the couch, he let Ms. Rivas go, said Mr. Valle.

Ms. Rivas disappeared and when she returned, she was wielding a knife in her left hand.

"She said, 'I'm going to get you first before you get me,''' Mr. Valle said. Upon seeing the knife, Mr. Arita grabbed Ms. Rivas' hands but Ms. Rivas broke free and allegedly stabbed Mr. Arita, Mr. Valle testified.

Mr. Arita threw himself upon Ms. Rivas and the two fell into the hallway.

"What she said was, 'I'm sorry baby, I didn't mean to do it,''' Mr. Valle said.

In an interview at Stanford Hospital August 10, Ms. Rivas told detectives she did not know how she ended up in the hospital. She said she drank several beers that day and danced with a couple of people at the party. The last thing she remembered was feeling pain in the back of her head, as if she had been hit, and then falling to the floor.

Ms. Rivas and Mr. Arita were together about three and one-half years, beginning when the couple lived in El Salvador.

Mr. Arita was not physically abusive and the pair rarely argued, Ms. Rivas told police. And although she said that Mr. Arita had threatened to harm her in the past, she did not consider his threats credible, Menlo Park police Detective William Massey testified.

On August 11, Det. Massey asked if Ms. Rivas knew why Mr. Arita had not visited her in the hospital. Ms. Rivas said she believed he was mad at her for drinking at the party. When told that Mr. Arita had been stabbed, Ms. Rivas cried and asked if he was alive.

Ms. Rivas' arraignment is set for February 2 at 8:30 a.m.

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