Homeless man arrested after allegedly stabbing elderly woman to death in random attack on LA metro

A homeless man has been arrested and charged with murder in the stabbing an elderly woman on the Los Angeles metro in what has been described as a random and unprovoked attack Monday morning. 

Elliot Tramel Nowden, 45, was taken into custody shortly after the woman, whose identity has not yet been released, succumbed to her injuries in a nearby hospital. 

According to KTLA, the incident took place around 5am onboard a southbound B Line train as it approached Universal City station. Nowden allegedly stabbed the woman numerous times in the neck with a pair of small kitchen knives. 

When the train pulled up to the station, they both stepped onto the platform. As she was transported to hospital and bled to death, he fled the scene. 

Via footage obtained from security cameras at the station and descriptions of the suspect provided by witnesses, officers with the LA Police Department were able to track Nowden down in the area of Ventura Boulevard and Vineland Avenue half a mile away. 

He was apprehended and charged with murder and is currently being held on $2 million bond. 

"This does appear to be completely unprovoked from what witnesses have told detectives," LAPD Detective Meghan Aguilar told KTLA. "There was no altercation prior to this violent attack." 
 
There was also no evidence that Nowden and the woman knew each other. 
 
The incident halted service on the B Line for hours as authorities conducted their investigation, however a bus bridge was set up to assist passengers. Since it was Earth Day, the entire transit system was free. 
 
As KTLA reports, while many have felt as though they are less safe on the metro than before, statistics show that transit crime has gone down 10 percent since this time last year. 

On the other hand, property theft crime as of late 2023 showed an increase of 42 percent over the two years prior in LA. Other property crimes such as motor theft as well as burglaries also spiked the time frame while violent crimes dipped at the same time.