Elderly Orange County Man Arrested in Connection with Domestic Violence Stabbing

A Tustin, California man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Around 6 p.m. on April 25, 2013 the Tustin Police Department responded to a domestic violence call. When the police reached the house located on Newport Avenue, they saw a woman bleeding from a stab wound. She was stabbed in her chest. Paramedics administered first aid to her and rushed her to a hospital. The woman in her 50s is expected to survive the stabbing.

The police have taken her husband into custody on suspicion of attempted murder. Her husband has been identified as 64 year old Raymundo Arellano. While every state has criminal laws that could be applied to spouse abuse, traditionally police and prosecutors do not treat it as a criminal matter; only recently has spouse abuse itself been categorized as a separate criminal offense.

Traditional Domestic Violence in California

In California, Domestic violence includes three separate but related types of crimes: spouse abuse, child abuse, and elderly abuse. In each of these categories the abuser and the victim share a common family or household and because the crimes take place largely in private, they were not the focus of public attention until recently. Victims of each of these types of abuse have benefited from recent abuse legislation and from court decisions creating new, or expanding old, rights. In many communities there are shelters that provide a variety of services to abuse victims at little or no cost to the victim.

There have been considerable viewpoints and definitions of violence that occurs within the family context. For example, family violence encompasses not only violence between female and male partners or same sex partners but also child abuse, elder abuse, and sibling abuse. Domestic violence refers to the abuse by one person of another in an intimate relationship - marriage partners, dating relationships, partners living together, and even former spouses, former partners, and former boyfriends/girlfriends. The Department of Justice refers to the parties within these relationships as "intimates." Violence between intimates may take the form of physical violence, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and even stalking. The intent of the abuse is usually some form of control by one intimate over another. The various forms of abuse are the tactics a person uses to establish such control.

Legal Repercussions

While the criminal case will punish the perpetrator of domestic violence, the victim will not be given any compensation by the court. If the victim wants to recover compensation for having suffered emotional and physical injuries at the hands of the perpetrator, the victim can file a civil suit in a court of law seeking damages for the injuries.

For more information about California domestic violence law, or to receive a professional case evaluation, call 949-250-6097 to speak with a MacGregor & Collins, LLP Orange County domestic violence lawyer for up to one hour for free.

Written by Randy Collins