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19-Year-Old Confesses to Fatal Stabbing of Gallery Manager Outside Capitola Mall

Prosecutors say newly released court filings showing prior warnings alongside alleged premeditation justify seeking to hold the suspect without bail

Overview

  • Prosecutors say 19-year-old Tyler Leibelt confessed in a 911 call and to officers after he fatally stabbed 73-year-old Rachell Summers outside Capitola Mall.
  • Court filings and police reports say Leibelt bought two switchblade knives minutes earlier at a nearby Big 5, ran up behind Summers and stabbed her more than 11 times with defensive wounds noted.
  • Officials describe the attack as a random act with no known prior relationship between the suspect and the victim and say several eyewitnesses saw the assault.
  • The filings disclose a November emergency gun-violence restraining order in which deputies recorded Leibelt expressing a desire to cause a mass-casualty event and writing a goodbye note.
  • Leibelt is charged with murder plus enhancements for lying in wait and use of a deadly weapon, he is being held without bail, and his arraignment was continued to July 29.