Suspect charged in ‘horrific’ stabbing, drowning murder of 72-year-old man

A 25-year-old man has been charged with the murder of a 72-year-old man who he allegedly tied to a chair, stabbed and then drowned in a bathtub in a San Jose apartment earlier this month, Santa Clara County prosecutors said Thursday.

A San Jose man was arrested last Saturday on suspicion of the killing discovered on Sept. 6 in the 200 block of East Santa Clara Street.

A woman had requested a welfare check at an apartment, saying she was worried about her father, and police went in and found the victim’s body in the bathtub. He had been stabbed and had a rope around his torso, and the scene had been cleaned with bleach, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Via witnesses and surveillance footage, investigators determined the suspect entered the victim’s apartment and was there for about 30 hours, then left with shopping bags and threw away items, prosecutors said.

San Jose police said investigators identified the suspect and patrol officers arrested him Saturday. He was arraigned Wednesday and is being held without bail.

District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement:

“This horrific crime and the defendant who did it has no place in our society.”