Overview
- Police took Plaza, 33, into custody Thursday after a tip led them to a salon near 75th Street and 23rd Avenue, following a shelter-in-place order in the neighborhood.
- Prosecutors have charged him with first-degree intentional homicide in the April 1 stabbing death of 28-year-old Makayla Plaza, found in her home near 75th Street and 22nd Avenue.
- A criminal complaint and police video state officers saw Plaza through a basement window dragging a body, that he gave a false name at the door, and that he escaped by hopping a fence.
- Two children were inside the home during the attack, and one told officers that their father used a knife.
- Court filings show Makayla’s February restraining-order request was dismissed and police had earlier arrested Plaza for battery without filed charges, raising fresh questions about domestic-violence protections.