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Young man arrested in Boron slaying of elderly woman
| Wednesday, Apr 23 2008 10:07 AM
Last Updated: Wednesday, Apr 23 2008 5:29 PM
A 72-year-old woman was stabbed and killed by a 23-year-old man Tuesday night in her Boron apartment, Kern County Sheriff's Department said.
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Rosita Newman was in her apartment at Desert Lake Apartments when Bryan Douglas Eckroth entered and assaulted her at about 10:30 p.m., according to Kern County Sheriff Department reports.
The sheriff's department received a call from a woman screaming for help from apartment 104, according to reports. When deputies arrived, they found Newman with numerous stab wounds. She died from her injures before paramedics arrived.
Department investigators determined that Eckroth , who lived in apartment 110 of the same complex, was responsible for the death. Eckroth was arrested at the scene and booked on suspicion of murder at the department's central facility.
The investigation is ongoing, and an autopsy will be performed on April 24.
Newman has lived alone in the complex for at least five years, while Eckroth moved in about a week ago, said Elizabeth Brown, the mother of Randy Brown, who owns Desert Lake Apartments with his wife Nancy.
Elizabeth Brown said Eckroth went to Newman's apartment to borrow food staples the day before her death.
“Rosy was very sweet, very gentle,” Brown said. “She never had a disagreement with no one.”
Eckroth started working at a nearby Subway about a week ago, a Subway employee said.
Newman, who colleagues called Rosie, was given an outstanding civilian career service award when she retired in October 2005 from the 95th Communications Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base after 24 years as a federal employee, according to a retirement award from base.
She began her career in 1981 as a telephone information operator with the Army Communication Center in Fort Irwin. Since then, she has received dozens of awards including seven performance awards, a manager of the year award in 2002, and a professional of the year award in 2004.
At one point, she was the only female frequency manager at Fort Irwin, Fort Polk and the Air Force Flight Test Center.
“She was a wonderful, good-natured person and a very hard worker,” said Duane Ellison, a Mission System Flight Chief at the base.
Newman worked for Ellison, and he said the base employees kept in contact with her often after her retirement.
“There's a lot of people out here who are very frustrated to say the least,” he said.
Boron is 90 miles southeast of Bakersfield between Tehachapi and Barstow off of Highway 58. About 2,000 people live in the city, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.