23-year-old man arrested on suspicion of fatally stabbing woman in Encanto

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) — A 23-year-old San Diego man was behind bars Wednesday on suspicion of fatally stabbing a woman whose body was found near an Encanto park, police said.

Napolean Joel Lange was arrested Monday and booked into the San Diego Central Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon, San Diego police homicide Lt. Todd Griffin said. He’s tentatively scheduled to be arraigned Thursday afternoon.

Lange is accused of killing 29-year-old San Diego resident Lavaughn Rawshanda Nicole Williams, Griffin said. No suspected motive was disclosed.

“Although the suspect and victim were acquainted, detectives are still working to confirm the status of their relationship,” the lieutenant said.

Williams’ body was found at 2:33 p.m. Saturday in the 500 block of South 66th Street. A citizen reported the discovery to officers working an SDPD recruiting event at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park.

The officers went to the location on the perimeter of the park and located the body on a ravine slope, Griffin said. The victim had been stabbed  in the upper body.