Investigators had named a suspect in a series of murders that left three Californians with their throats slashed last year.
Ryan Scott Blinston, 37, was charged with arson, attempted murder, and murder on Wednesday. He had been working as a tree trimmer in Los Molinos, Northern California.
Blinston is accused of breaking into Loreen and Homer Severs home, five days after he worked at their garden on May 23.
The suspect slashed the 88 and 91-year-old’s throats and left the scene to start a bloody, “two-month crime spree.”
“This case is different from other homicides we have dealt with,” DA Matthew D. Rogers said. “There was no fight, no jilted lover, no drug deal gone bad.”
“None of these murders were anything like that. They were just purely random attacks on defenseless people.”
The statement added that “Blinston is also alleged to have murdered Sandra George, 82, in Oroville on June 4, 2020, and Vicky Cline, 52, in Oroville on June 6, 2020.”
Even when police zeroed on his secluded hideout to arrest him on June 14, 2020, Blinston had been trying to kill a man to steal his motorhome.
“As the team approached the motorhome, they heard the muffled screams of a man inside and loud banging on the outside of the motorhome. The banging turned out to be Blinston attempting to get into the motorhome with a hatchet.”
