Arizona Man Stabbed 59-Year-Old Girlfriend 26 Times Before Fleeing To Mexico
An Arizona man is accused of stabbing a longtime girlfriend to death and fleeing the country earlier this week, according to reports.
Investigators say 53-year-old Erik Islas was arrested for the murder of 59-year-old Patricia Hawking.
On Tuesday, Sept. 5, just after 2 p.m., a woman called 911 and reported her tenant, Hawking, hadn’t been seen for several days at a casita near 16th Street and Bethany Home Road.
The woman attempted to call Hawking, but another man answered her cell phone and said he found it in the intersection near 32nd Street and University Drive, police said.
That’s nine miles from her home. The landlord then opened the door to the casita and saw blood on the ground, then called 911.
Officers arrived and saw broken furniture and damaged items inside Hawking’s casita, noticing “clear signs of a struggle,” court documents state.
Hawking was found dead inside her bedroom, and a bloody knife was found in the bathroom trash can. Investigators say she was stabbed 26 times.
Video surveillance obtained by police showed on Sunday, Sept. 3, Hawking and her boyfriend, Islas, were arguing and fighting in the casita.
Family members say the two had a “tumultuous” eight-year relationship.
Court paperwork states Hawking had to be hospitalized numerous times for domestic violence injuries.
She had also told family members Islas had threatened to kill her and her family by stabbing them with a knife, investigators said.
Hours after the murder, Islas reportedly drove from Phoenix to Tucson and later crossed the border into Mexico.
On Wednesday, Islas was detained in Nogales while trying to return to the U.S. from Mexico. In an interview with police, he reportedly admitted to punching Hawking in the face and stabbing her multiple times.
He said he then took her phone so he couldn’t be tracked and drove to Mexico, investigators said. He was booked on one count of first-degree murder.
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