Homeless man beats woman to death with a sledgehammer on Christmas Eve at college campus, California police say

A woman who was brutally beaten by a homeless man with a sledgehammer on Christmas Eve has died, according to California police.

The woman in her sixties was walking her dog on the campus of El Camino College when she was attacked at about 7:08 a.m. She was transported to a local hospital, where she died of her injuries a day later, on Christmas day.

El Camino campus police responded to the incident and identified a suspect with the aid of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Investigators said they identified him as Jeffery Davis, a 40-year-old man, from surveillance footage at the college and from previous police interactions with the man.

Investigators described the victim as an Asian woman between 60 and 65 years old. They believe she was collecting recyclable containers from the trash cans on campus and walking her dog at the time of the attack.

El Camino College Police Sgt. Francisco Esqueda said that Davis was booked into the Los Angeles County South LA detention facility on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder.

“The person that we had an idea of who was on the security footage is, we believe, a homeless person we’ve had contact with before,” Esqueda said. “So we were able to go to the neighboring county park where he sometimes hangs out and that’s where we found him.”

Residents of the neighborhood were shocked by the attack.

“It’s devastating,” said Leslie Andersen. “It’s gut-wrenching. I’m still in shock. Our dogs became friends so they would play together and we would talk. Just the sweetest woman.”

A witness said that Davis' dog stayed by her side after the attack.

The college serves about 33,000 students. It was on winter break at the time of the horrific incident.

Here's a local news report about the incident:

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!