Officers responded to an 11:35 p.m. report of a stabbing victim in the 400 block of East O'Keefe Street. Officers found the man and applied first aid before paramedics arrived, but he died at the scene.
Police identified the victim as Abner Oswaldo Najeraxol, 33, of East Palo Alto.
Officers arrested 19-year-old Wilmer Vasquez Amador, also of East Palo Alto, in connection with the homicide shortly after 5:30 a.m. July 5. He was taken into custody with assistance from the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office and information from witnesses who came forward, according to police.
On July 7, officers arrested Amador's cousin, 29-year-old Ceferino Vasquez Lopez, for his alleged role in the stabbing based on new video surveillance footage submitted to law enforcement, police said. Lopez, an East Palo Alto resident, was booked into San Mateo County jail.
Witnesses allege Amador took out a folding knife and stabbed Najeraxol once in the neck, according to the District Attorney's Office. Officers found the 33-year-old man was heavily bleeding in the spot where he was stabbed.
Police came across a trail of blood that led to a neighboring apartment about 50 yards away from the deadly stabbing and found the unit was locked. Officers acquired a search warrant to enter the residence, where they found Amador on the porch with the knife nearby, the District Attorney's Office said.
Amador made his initial appearance in San Mateo County Superior Court on Wednesday, July 6, prosecutors said. The 19-year-old man faces a felony count of murder and remains in custody without bail. His next court hearing is scheduled for July 13.
This is the third homicide in the city this year.
Anyone with information about the homicide is asked to call acting Cmdr. Angel Sanchez at 650-853-3154. Information can be shared anonymously via email at [email protected] and by text or voicemail at 650-409-6792.
—Bay City News Service
This story contains 342 words.
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