San Diego police have revealed there was a sixth victim in a series of brutal attacks on homeless people across San Diego last year.
Jon David Guerrero, 39, has been charged in the attacks on five homeless people in San Diego, some of whom were killed with railroad spikes.
Police have now revealed a sixth, previously unannounced victim connected to Guerrero: 83-year-old Molly Simons. However, unlike Guerrero's other victims, Simons was not homeless.
The 83-year-old woman was found beaten on July 13 near Arizona Street and University Avenue as she was walking to a nearby bus stop to volunteer at a local YMCA, according to her autopsy report.
As Simons was walking, a man came up behind her and struck her on the head, according to the autopsy report. She fell to the ground and, when paramedics arrived, they found her with a bloody and swollen face.
Paramedics took Simons to the hospital, where she was conscious but could not remember what happened to her.
Doctors said she suffered a serious head injury, according to her autopsy report. Her health deteriorated, despite medical intervention, and she died on July 30, 2016, according to the ME's office.
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After investigating, Guerrero was identified as the suspect in Simons' death, SDPD Lt. Valentin said. The evidence was presented to the District Attorney's office on Aug. 6, but was never publically announced.
Unlike Guerrero's other alleged victims, Simons was not homeless and lived with her husband in San Diego.
Criminologist Jack Levin, a Northeastern professor, said it did not surprise him that the victim characteristics changed over time.
"We think about serial killers as having some kind of immutable pattern in their choice of victims or their modus operandi, [for example] if they strangle the first victim they will strangle all their victims," he said. "Or if their victims are homeless men all the victims will be homeless men."
"The truth is they get bored and they're looking for some excitement and they tend to vary their victim characteristics over time," Levin said.
According to the ME's office, Simons' death was declared a homicide and her manner of death was blunt force injury of head.
Lt. Valentin said the department believes they have found all of Guerrero's victims at this time.
Guerrero is accused in five attacks that began July 3, and authorities believe he acted alone.
The dramatic homicide investigation first surfaced when police found the badly burned body of 53-year-old Angelo de Nardo near train tracks in Bay Ho. Investigators say they believe the homeless man died before he was set on fire.
On July 4, two homeless men were discovered attacked within an hour of each other in Bay Ho and Ocean Beach in the early hours of morning around 5 a.m. and 6 a.m.
They both suffered severe trauma to the upper body. 61-year-old Manuel Mason remains in critical condition. 41-year-old Shawn Longley died from the vicious assault.
On July 6, 23-year-old Derek Vahidy was found attacked and lit on fire in Pantoja Park near State and G Streets. He later died in the hospital.
Guerrero was arrested on July 15 after a fifth man was attacked at 18th and C streets.
Prosecutors have said Guerrero used railroad spikes to impale the victims as they slept.
