(Image source: KNBC)

BY STEVEN SPARKMAN

For nearly a month, the homeless of Orange County have been on guard against a serial killer. Three men were stabbed to death between December 20th and 30th. Now, a writer for the LA City Buzz Examiner reports, police have arrested a suspect, but too late to prevent another murder.

“A brutal reign of terror against homeless men in L.A. may have come to an end, but sadly, it took the death a fourth homeless individual to apprehend and identify a suspect. … The suspect in custody is a former Marine who served in Afghanistan...”

Police say they’re confident the man in custody, Itzcoatl Ocampo, is the one responsible for all four killings. KABC describes how he was caught.

“After he stabbed 65-year-old John Berry to death in the parking lot of a Carl’s Jr restaurant, bystanders and witnesses at the crime scene chased Ocampo, and the 23-year-old was later captured by police.”

Ocampo’s family says he returned from the military complaining of seeing and hearing things and described him as “sick.” His uncle told the LA Times, the last time he saw his nephew...

“...was at a Christmas Eve party. Ocampo, he said, had told a cousin, ‘I did something terrible, but don't worry.’ The killings had begun four days earlier.”

Commenters on the LA Times article point out that the fourth victim had actually been interviewed by the paper earlier this month about the murders. They accused the Times of putting victim John Berry in the killer’s sights. This was the paper’s description:

“...a 64-year-old man named John Berry, with a scraggly white beard and a fisherman's cap, lay on his back under a tarp on the riverbed trail. He's been living here for months ... Berry said he avoids shelters and isn't afraid of being knifed.”

Berry was an astronomy and wildlife buff who said he enjoyed sleeping outdoors. But in the days before his murder, friends say he’d become concerned he was being followed. KNBC reports on the outpouring of grief from the community over his death.

“In the dimly-lit fast food parking lot, people took time to say goodbye. … There were songs, tears and hugs as over 100 people expressed sympathy for John Berry.”

Police haven’t announced a motive for the killings. Ocampo is being held without bail, and prosecutors may seek the death penalty.