Stab Wounds

New technology or DNA evidence often helps crack decades-old slaying cases, but in the case of 58-year-old Archie McFarland, years of inconsistent testimony finally sealed the fate of his killer. "The passage of time played to this case's advantage," Deputy Dist. Atty. John Lewin said. "Lies are hard to remember. The truth never changes. " On Wednesday, more than 25 years after McFarland was stabbed to death outside his Torrance home, L.A. County Superior Court Judge Mark S. Arnold sentenced Janos Kulcsar, now 60, to 26 years to life in prison.

A 34-year-old San Fernando man has died of stab wounds received in Mission Hills during the weekend, Los Angeles police said Wednesday. John Pedraza was found by acquaintances early Sunday morning suffering from multiple stab wounds in the parking lot of the LGT Vegas, a nightclub in the 11000 block of Sepulveda Boulevard, Detective Stephen Fisk said. Pedraza, an employee of General Motors in Van Nuys, died Tuesday.

Two men suffered stab wounds Thursday night during a street fight in Oxnard, officials said. The men--an uncle and his nephew--were injured about 8:30 p.m. in the 4500 block of Anchorage Street just west of Oxnard College, according to the Oxnard Police Department. The nephew, believed to be in his 20s, was found lying in the street with at least four stab wounds to his hand, arm, abdomen and back, ambulance personnel said.

Three inmates awaiting trial for murder suffered stab wounds during two separate fights at the county Hall of Justice jail in downtown Los Angeles, sheriff's deputies said. The first attack occurred about 3:45 p.m. Monday when Anthony Sampson, 19, was stabbed just above the eye during a fight with several other inmates on the 12th floor of the county building, Deputy Bryan Williams said.

A Fullerton man was booked on suspicion of murder Friday in the death of a 26-year-old Seal Beach woman whose body was found in a Surfside Colony apartment, police said. Peggy Mary Rullo, 27, was found dead after police were notified at 5:14 p.m. Thursday by "a caller on the 911 (emergency phone number) system" who said paramedics and police were needed at the location, according to a police spokeswoman. An autopsy was conducted Friday, but the cause of death was not disclosed.

A man was hospitalized with stab wounds Thursday after an argument between co-workers at an Irvine business turned violent, authorities said. Irvine police called to Paradigm Wireless Systems on McGaw Avenue about 3:40 p.m. found the victim with stab wounds to the upper left torso. He was transported to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where he underwent emergency surgery and was in stable condition Thursday night, police Sgt. Rick Handfield said.

Investigators arrested a 24-year-old man Friday in connection with the killing of a Buena Park man whose body was found with multiple stab wounds in a trash dumpster, police said. Jeffery Thomas Newvine, 24, of Buena Park was booked at the city jail on suspicion of murder and is expected to be arraigned early next week, Lt. Robert Chaney said.

Two men found dead in an Oxnard motel room with multiple stab wounds to their necks and stripped of their personal belongings were identified Monday as Oxnard residents. Oxnard police spokesman David Keith said one of the men found Friday in the Flamingo Motel was Rosendo Vargas, 39. The name of the second victim, a 40-year-old city resident, was withheld pending notification of his family. A manager at the $36-a-night motel on Oxnard Boulevard found the men dead at checkout time Friday.

Homicide investigators on Friday were looking for witnesses to the fatal nighttime stabbing of a 25-year-old Upland man. Sheriff's deputies received a call about 7:20 p.m. Thursday, reporting that a man was lying in the 10600 block of Magnolia Avenue. They found him bleeding from stab wounds to his upper body. Paramedics treated the man at the scene and took him to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later, said Sheriff's Lt. Richard J. Olson.