LEMON GROVE, Calif. (KGTV) - Lemon Grove neighbors are trying to grasp what happened Friday night, after deputies say a stabbing left a wife and mother dead and her husband injured.
The siren of an ambulance broke through the chatter at a backyard barbecue a few doors down from the 2200 block of Dain Ct. Billy Bolander and his wife, Karla, just moved into the neighborhood and had a couple friends over.
Billy heard more sirens, this time from sheriff's deputies, and ran over to see what was wrong.
He came upon a horrifying scene, a woman dying on the front lawn. "The daughter pulled in, as everything already happened, she was in the grass laying there, and they put her in the stretcher and got her into the ambulance and as she was in there she said, 'Don't die on me!' and apparently she died on the way up there so," he said looking away.
Deputies identified the wife and mother as 30-year-old Rhona Barcelon. Deputies responded to the house around 7:30 p.m. Friday and said the couple was arguing. They knocked on the door repeatedly with no answer.
When they heard screaming, they forced their way inside to find both Rhona and her 31-year-old husband Jay had been stabbed.
Homicide detectives believe Jay stabbed his wife and was injured in the fight. Both went to the hospital. Rhona was pronounced dead shortly after arrival and Jay was taken into surgery and is expected to survive.
It is a devastating story neighbors are hearing, "the ones next door to us, this house right here, he said, 'My mom's had this house for over 40 years and we've never heard anything like this before,' and when we told him, he was in shock." Karla said.
"Something like that should never have happened, even if it was an argument, no need for violence right?" Billy added.
The Sheriff's homicide unit is investigating and a Gofundme has been created for Rhona's funeral expenses.
