Dying California woman IDs estranged husband of Vancouver as assailant

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — A man suspected of driving from Washington state to California in order to kill his estranged wife was in a standoff with Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies Thursday night, authorities said.

James Dorsey, 41, was believed to have a knife and deputies with guns drawn were watching his disabled Chevy Malibu on the edge of an aqueduct in the Neenach area of northern L.A. County, according to a Sheriff’s Department statement and news reports.

An armored sheriff’s vehicle was at the scene and crisis negotiation team was called to make contact with the suspect “to bring this to a peaceful resolution,” the Sheriff’s Department statement said.

The woman, whose name was not released, was stabbed around 5 a.m. in a house in the city of Santa Clarita.

The woman made a “dying declaration” in which she identified her estranged husband, Dorsey, as the suspect, sheriff’s Lt. Barry Hall told reporters outside the residence.

Dorsey is listed in the state voter database as a Vancouver resident. He last voted in Vancouver in November 2020.

Dorsey was believed to have driven from Washington state on Wednesday, authorities said.

“He was not welcome at the house … he probably forced his way through the door at the back,” Hall said.

Three children in the house were not harmed.