DNA, camera footage played role in teen’s arrest for Carlsbad hiker killing
CARLSBAD (KUSI) – The DNA of a 17-year-old boy accused of fatally stabbing a 68-year-old woman last month on a Carlsbad hiking trail was found on the victim’s shorts, according to testimony heard Tuesday in San Diego juvenile court.
The teen, whose name was withheld because he is a minor, is charged with murder in the death of Lisa Thorborg, whose body was found on Hosp Grove trail on the morning of Nov. 23.
Tuesday’s hearing revealed some of the preliminary facts that led Carlsbad police to arrest the boy, who still faces the possibility of being charged as an adult.
Based on evidence heard Tuesday, San Diego Superior Court Judge Richard Monroy ruled that there was enough evidence to allow the case to proceed and for the boy, who pleaded not guilty to the charges last week, to remain held in custody.
Among the details revealed at the hearing include that the boy’s DNA was found on Thorborg’s shorts and that surveillance footage from the nearby area captured a boy resembling the defendant running away from the park about 15 minutes after police believe Thorborg was killed.
Surveillance footage and license-plate reader data also showed that the boy’s grandmother dropped him off near the park about an hour before the attack.
Police set up a camera in the park following Thorborg’s death, which police allege shows the boy venturing along the trail on multiple occasions after Nov. 23, often barefoot and carrying flip-flops.
Two pairs of flip-flops, including one believed to belong to the boy, were found near the crime scene.
He was allegedly contacted by police in early December and ran from officers, who took him into custody, at which point his DNA was taken.
The boy was arrested again on Dec. 14, this time in connection with the stabbing.
Detectives have not disclosed a suspected motive for the killing, but testified that the victim was not robbed or sexually assaulted.
No outstanding suspects are being sought in the case, according to Carlsbad police Lt. Jason Jackowski.
The boy’s next court date is slated for Jan. 25.
