Los Angeles Man Arrested After Fatal Stabbing of Girlfriend in Sylmar

Police say Sergio Jimenez was taken into custody after an overnight search that began with the stabbing death of his girlfriend, Nancy De La Torre, inside a Sylmar apartment. De La Torre, 35, was found with multiple stab wounds in the 13000 block of Dronfield Avenue after officers responded to an assault with a deadly weapon cutting call around 9:15 p.m. on April 8, 2026.

De La Torre was rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Jimenez, 31, a Sylmar resident, was later booked for 187 PC-Murder, and his bail was set at $2 million.

Police said the pair were in a cohabiting relationship and described the killing as a domestic-violence incident. Investigators have not publicly said what triggered the attack. In the first hours after the stabbing, witnesses reported seeing a man run from the area, and officers quickly put up a perimeter as the search widened across the neighborhood.

Multiple units joined the manhunt, including Robbery-Homicide Division, Metropolitan Division, Gang and Narcotics Division, and Mission Division. Jimenez was found and arrested the next morning in the area of Hubbard Street and the 210 Freeway, about four miles from the apartment where De La Torre was killed. Police later identified the booking number as 7216983.

The LAPD said the incident was isolated and that there was no threat to public safety. Robbery-Homicide Division’s Valley Bureau Section took over the investigation as detectives worked the scene and the search shifted from the apartment complex to surrounding streets.

The case also disrupted a nearby school community. Gridley-Montanez Dual Language Academy was temporarily relocated to Maclay Middle School while officers searched for the suspect. The Los Angeles School Police Department placed an officer on campus and directed patrols in the neighborhood, and the school planned to resume normal operations on Friday, April 10, 2026. One parent, identified as Destiny, described the scene as chaotic and said there were cops everywhere.

With Jimenez now in custody, the case moves from a fast-moving neighborhood search to a homicide investigation centered on a home, a relationship, and a killing that sent police, schools, and nearby residents scrambling within hours.