California officials seek motive in triple slaying

ORCUTT, Calif. (AP) — California authorities are trying to determine why a Central Coast man stabbed and beat his sister, mother and a third person to death in their home.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said 43-year-old David Gerald McNabb was shot to death in a confrontation Friday night when deputies entered the home in the town of Orcutt.

McNabb had been a sheriff’s custody deputy from July 2001 until he resigned in March 2012. His record included a September 2012 arrest in neighboring Ventura County and a 2014 conviction for felony domestic violence, the office said.

The victims were identified as his sister, 34-year-old Nicole McNabb; his mother, 64-year-old Melanie McNabb; and 63-year-old Carlos Echavarria. All lived at the scene.

A Sheriff’s Office statement said the county dispatch center received a call at 8:05 p.m. from a person who entered her home and found a bloody scene inside.

“She discovered a victim covered in blood in a bathtub, fled the residence and called for help,” it said without identifying that person.

Responding deputies entered the home, contacted the suspect and determined he was armed with a rifle, the statement said.

Emergency notifications were sent to the neighborhood telling people to shelter in place, and the sheriff’s special tactical unit and hostage negotiators were summoned.