After the death of Diana Diaz in the wee hours of Monday night, Chula Vista police arrested the 62-year-old woman's grandson in what they said was at least the second in a series of attacks on her with a bat made by the teenager .
Police in the South Bay city said they were called out to a home in the 1500 block of Melrose Avenue shortly before 1 a.m. When they arrived at the house, which is around the corner from Orange Avenue near where the 805 cuts through the neighborhood, 18-year-old Adrian Gutierrez was in the living room. Police say the teen fled to a bedroom when they entered the home, though, and "barricaded" himself inside.
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Sadly, Diaz was found on the floor of another bedroom, unresponsive and gravely injured. First-responders made attempts to save her life and she was taken to a local hospital, but their efforts failed. After her death, police determined she had been struck with a bat by her grandson in a previous incident.
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Investigators said the teen, who in the past has suffered from mental-health issues, had armed himself with with a knife during a brief ensuing standoff, but he eventually surrendered peacefully.
Gutierrez is currently facing a charge of first-degree murder. He is being held without bail at the downtown San Diego jail and is due in court in Chula Vista on Thursday.
