Who is Darlene Stephanie Montoya? Transient, 23, suspected of murdering 64-year-old Asian woman Ke Chieh Meng
Riverside, Southern California -- On Saturday, an Asian-American woman, Ke Chieh Meng, was stabbed to death while she was walking her dogs in Southern California. As per reports, police have said that it was a "completely random" attack. The incident had taken place at 7:30 am in Riverside's La Sierra neighborhood and the victim suffered "multiple stab wounds" to dire parts of the body such as her abdomen. She was left bleeding on the ground, and later pronounced dead at the hospital to where she was transported.
The attacker was identified to be Darlene Stephanie Montoya, 23 who was reportedly arrested "near the scene" and is not set to face charges for murder. There have been multiple attacks on the Asian American community this past few weeks, but police have revealed that they believe that Meng, 64 death was not racially motivated, but was a random attack. Riverside Police Department spokesman Ryan Railsback said, "There was nothing to suggest that the victim was attacked due to her ethnicity."
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Who was Darlene Stephanie Montoya?
While there isn't much information released on Meng, it is known that she was 64 years of age. She fell victim to Montoya, from Monterey Park, who is considered to have a "transient" history with drugs and the law. "We're going to try to research [the suspect's] drug-abuse history and her mental-health history," said Railsback who further added that officials, "not closing the door on anything."
With the death of Meng, this would mark Montoya's second arrest through the course of less than a week. She was earlier detained on March 30, as she had allegedly attacked a "white woman" on a skateboard while at a shopping center on Tyler Avenue near the 91 Freeway overpass. As per The Daily Mail, she was charged with assault with a deadly weapon but was released without bail because of impending COVID-19 restrictions on a “Notice to Appear” citation. This past Saturday, Montoya was arrested and booked on suspicion of murder into the Robert Presley Detention Center - she is also accused of a weapons violation and being under the influence of an illegal substance as per reports. As for now, the suspect is being held without bail.
This past Sunday, as per The Daily Mail, protestors took to the streets of New York to protest hate crimes against Asian Americans. The protest called 'Stop Asian Hate' had started reportedly started at Foley Square in Manhattan. The protesters then marched through City Hall Park and over the Brookley Bride all the way to Cadman Plaza. As per the NYPD, there have been 33 hate crimes that involved an Asian victim this year. Alarmingly, last year an 800% increase in crimes of this nature, from the year prior. Reportedly, people believe that these attacks are occurring because the COVID-19 virus had originated from China.