Two additional individuals suffered multiple stab wounds during the attack, with law enforcement affirming that the assault was not a random act.
In a tragic incident on Saturday, a 60-year-old woman fell victim to an apparent family dispute involving multiple stab wounds at a residence in the Berkeley hills
The distressing event unfolded at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, within a dwelling situated on the 1000 block of Overlook Road in Berkeley. According to the Berkeley Scanner, Jonah Roper, a 36-year-old individual, arrived at the scene and purportedly inflicted multiple stab wounds upon his 60-year-old mother.
Startled neighbors recounted hearing desperate pleas for assistance and a harrowing scream that echoed through the area. They also observed the assailant pursuing an elderly man out of the residence. This man, identified as Roper’s stepfather, sustained multiple stab wounds. A witness revealed that the fleeing man implored, “Why are you doing this? I didn’t do anything to you.”
Reports further indicate that another woman, described as a neighbor, suffered multiple stab wounds after the suspect forcibly entered her residence and allegedly attacked her
Officer Jessica Perry, a spokesperson for the Berkeley Police, informed Berkeleyside that Roper fled the scene using a vehicle not registered in his name. Shortly thereafter, law enforcement successfully apprehended Roper, employing force to halt his vehicle in the vicinity of Ninth and Gilman streets, near a Whole Foods store.
Roper was taken into custody at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday, as per information obtained by the Berkeley Scanner. Heartbroken neighbor Mardi Sicular expressed her grief to the East Bay Times, recalling the deceased woman as “a beautiful person, beloved, kind, generous … an angel of a neighbor… We’re all devastated.”
This tragic event marks Berkeley’s first homicide of 2023.
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