Anaheim man charged with murder in bedroom stabbing of Whittier man, 28

An Anaheim father is charged with murder after prosecutors say he came home early from work and fatally stabbed a man he found in his bed with his wife.

Ismael Pinedalopez, 34, of Anaheim, is accused of stabbing Nicholas Garcia, 28, multiple times with a pocketknife on Saturday, Oct. 24, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office. FOX 11 reported that Garcia was from Whittier. The couple's 2-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son were in the home, prosecutors say.

What prosecutors say

Anaheim police received a call about a stabbing at a home in the 700 block of North Pine Street. Officers found a bloodied Pinedalopez there and Garcia's body in the bedroom Pinedalopez shared with his wife and children, the DA's office said. Garcia had been stabbed multiple times.

According to prosecutors, Pinedalopez came home from work early and found Garcia in his underwear in bed with his wife. Pinedalopez's wife and the two children were not hurt.

"Violence is never the answer, and it is truly heartbreaking that these young children had to witness their father commit such a horrific act of brutality in their own home," Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement.

The charges

Pinedalopez is charged with one felony count of murder and a felony enhancement for personal use of a weapon. If convicted on all counts, he faces up to 26 years to life in state prison, prosecutors say.

He was scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 27, the day the DA announced the charges. Senior Deputy District Attorney Mark Birney of the DA's Homicide Unit is prosecuting the case.

Pinedalopez has not been convicted of any crime. Charges are allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

What we don't know yet

Officials have not publicly said whether Pinedalopez has entered a plea, whether he remains in custody or when he is due back in court.