Santa Clara Homicide Victim Identified

Santa Clara police are offering a reward for information leading  to an arrest in the case of a 43-year-old man who was found dead at a motel  on Friday, police Lt. Phil Cooke said.
     
The man, identified as Matthew Lawrence Brettner, was found dead  at about 10:20 a.m. at the St. Francis Motel, located at 2222 The Alameda,  Cooke said.
     
It appears Brettner, who was partially disabled, had been stabbed  multiple times, Cooke said. The attacker escaped afterward and has not yet  been identified.
     
Brettner was a Santa Clara resident who had been living at the  motel since March. He was unemployed due to his physical disabilities, Cooke  said.
     
Another man was killed in a separate murder the same day Brettner  died, but Cooke said the cases are not related.
   
 In the other case, Ralph Steven Lerma, a 37-year-old Hollister  man, was stabbed to death during an argument at an apartment complex at 1495  Don Ave. that evening. The suspect, Kevin Garcia, 23, of San Jose, was  arrested on Sunday.
     
Anyone with information about the Brettner homicide is encouraged  to call Detective Sgt. Brian Gilbert at (408) 615-4849. Cooke said police are  still determining the amount of the reward being offered.
 

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