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Daughter held in fatal stabbing of Simi woman
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More from Local NewsA 41-year-old woman was booked Wednesday into Ventura County Jail on suspicion of fatally stabbing her mother in Simi Valley, authorities said.
Police found the body of Rose Weiss, 69, at her home in the 5300 block of Diane Street at 2:44 p.m. Tuesday after responding to a call asking them to check on her. Sgt. Adam Darough, a spokesman for Simi Valley police, would not say who called police.
Darough said Weiss was stabbed multiple times.
She had likely been dead for several hours by the time police arrived, said Craig Stevens, a senior deputy medical examiner.
Police later arrested Weiss' daughter, Lauren Donahue, in Santa Clarita. Darough would not offer any details on Donahue's arrest or what led police to her.
Police did say they learned Donahue "may have boarded a train in the San Fernando Valley," and they later found her at the Santa Clarita train station. Donahue was being held in jail in lieu of $515,000 bail.
Donahue was listed as a transient by police. Police would not say if Weiss lived with anyone at the home.
Court records show Donahue was convicted in 2007 of felony possession of a controlled substance.
Detectives on Wednesday had not yet determined a possible motive for Weiss' killing, authorities said.
Neighbor Mike Seguin said the street was normally quiet, except for periodic police visits to the Weiss house. "It didn't happen every week, but it happened often enough," he said.
Darough confirmed police had responded to the home numerous times but would not say why.
Seguin said he would sometimes see Donahue in front of her mother's home or nearby, and she always seemed to want to be left alone. "If she saw someone coming her way, she would go to the other side of the street," Seguin said.
Seguin said he didn't see Weiss as often, but "she seemed like a nice, quiet person."
According to Social Security and Internet database records, Weiss was married to Victor Weiss, a well-known sports promoter found slain in North Hollywood in 1979. Simi Valley police, however, would not confirm the relationship, and other family members could not be reached Wednesday.
Best-selling author Michael Connelly, who wrote an article about the 1979 killing for the Los Angeles Times a decade later, called the unsolved crime "one of the longer-lasting mysteries of Los Angeles."
Victor Weiss was reported missing by his wife, Rose. He was found dead three days later, stuffed into the trunk of his Rolls-Royce with two gunshot wounds to his head. Los Angeles police suspected Weiss was killed by mobsters because he had accumulated sports-betting debts and was skimming laundered money, Connelly wrote. Connelly's novel, "Trunk Music," is based on Weiss' killing.
Victor's son, Wolf Weiss, was killed in 2004 in Iraq, where he was working for a private security firm, according to neighbors in Simi Valley and published reports.
Wolf Weiss, 36, told Rolling Stone magazine in 2004 that he had joined the Marines at 18 partly because he wanted to hunt down his father's killers. His mother eventually talked him out of revenge. He became a mercenary after a career as a rock musician.
After hearing about Rose Weiss' killing, Connelly said Wednesday that the tragedy was one more strange twist in a saga that has stuck with him. "It's a pretty surprising story," said Connelly, who now lives in Florida.
Posted by AnnaWhaat on February 7, 2008 at 7:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If this daughter was homeless, probably strung out on meth........just a thought! She probably lost her mind and killed her mom. So sad.......Now this is just an assumption......
Posted by rebel123 on February 7, 2008 at 8:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What a tragic story.
Posted by amycastillo78 on February 7, 2008 at 9:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Sounds like that Prop 36 treatment for Donahue's 2005 drug conviction really worked! I suspect Rose Weiss might be wishing, right about now, that her daughter had spent a few years in custody.
Posted by narc121 on February 7, 2008 at 10:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
right there with you amycastillo78!
Posted by Valerinajs on February 7, 2008 at 1:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'd be curious to hear what the cirumstances end up being...
A mob killing? Mercenary's? A mother murdered by her daughter? This sounds more Hollywood fiction than Simi Valley real life.
Posted by Michael52x on February 7, 2008 at 2:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Have to face it. Simi is getting to be a little too diverse. A lot of displaced people are coming here, and flooding over from the SF valley.
I see a lot of people that have obvious psycological problems, and when a drug dependence is added, it can be a powder keg waiting to blow. Stress over just about everything now is prevalent, and violence is too easy an out.
Posted by eggsorpancakes on February 7, 2008 at 4:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Wow Michael52x...your comments sound naive. This is a different world we live in and noone is immune from drugs, mental problems, etc. They're everywhere and anywhere. When you say "diverse" I'm not exactly sure what you're referring to. Part of what makes a place like California so nice to live in is the diversity of the people that live here (whether that be by color, disability, etc.)
I agree with another comment I saw recently on one of the other stories related to this. We need to be educated on how to deal with those that have psychological problems, not alienate them.
Posted by lisam on February 7, 2008 at 4:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Anyone who knows Lauren or her family would tell you this is a very sad case of someone who is mentally ill and has been since she was a teenager combined with drug addiction. I think the combination alone says alot. Rose did her best to help her daughter but what do you do when the person you are trying to help is not sane to begin with. I'm sure Lauren did lose her mind completely and that is why she killed her mother. I was quite shocked to hear the news but it did not surprise me.
Posted by Twslv05 on February 7, 2008 at 8 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This family has had quite a tragic history. How very sad.
Posted by ironwoman on February 7, 2008 at 8:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is such a sad story to read. She lost her husband and her daughter was mentally ill.
My prayers are with the family. I hope that Donahue is put away for a long long long time.
Posted by LadyEdHD on February 9, 2008 at 1:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
GaelForce..please define feckin'. Oh btw, wrong article.
(Get a clue)
Tragic story, someone will want the movie rights.
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