Man Arrested In Resort Robbery Case
Friday, Nov 21, 2008 | Updated 7:01 AM PST
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A woman assaulted during a robbery at a Carlsbad resort was found dead a day later on her boat in Oceanside.
Carlsbad police said they had a man in custody in connection to the robbery of a resort earlier this week. A clerk who was hurt during the robbery later died.
Brain Lefler, 29, was arrested at a little before 8 p.m. on Thursday, police said. Lefler was taken into custody after a long foot chase, according to investigators.
Barbara Novelich was found dead on Monday on her boat in Oceanside. Friends found Novelich, 67. Novelich had refused medical treatment from authorities after the assault, but friends said her son took her to a hospital on Sunday morning and she had been treated for facial lacerations and released.
Novelich was working as a clerk at the Tamarack Beach Resort early Sunday when a man demanding money punched her in the face and stole her car, according to investigators.
The county medical examiner could not immediately determine a cause of death or say whether it was related to the assault.
