Woman Beaten with Brick, Ex Arrested: Chula Vista Police

Officers responded to Twin Oaks Circle and found the suspect with his knee on the woman’s throat, trying to cut off air

A man allegedly used a brick to brutally beat his ex-wife as she was taking out the trash at her Chula Vista home, police said Wednesday.

Rand Huffman, 63, of Los Angeles County faces charges of attempted homicide, torture and kidnapping.

Neighbors called 911 around 6:40 a.m. when they heard the woman’s screams.

Officers responded to Twin Oaks Circle near E Street. They found the suspect with his knee on the woman’s throat, trying to cut off air, officials said.

“The victim received multiple injuries, according to a witness, and was dragged to the back of the property,” said Chula Vista Police Capt. Lon Turner.

The victim, described as a woman in her early 60s, suffered serious head injuries. She was transported to a nearby hospital where she was rushed into emergency surgery. On Wednesday afternoon, she was in critical condition.

The couple had been divorced for decades, according to police. In fact, officers said Huffman hadn’t spoken to his ex-wife in nearly 30 years.

He recently rekindled the relationship with his son, who lives with his ex-wife.

Gabrielle Irons is an in-home nurse for one of the victim's neighbors.

“My client said, ‘I haven’t seen him in years come around here at all.’ She was just as shocked to find out,” Irons said.

However, witnesses told police that they saw the suspect sitting in a car in the neighborhood last weekend. Police said Huffman was wearing gloves and had a Taser and a knife on him Wednesday morning. These clues lead police to believe that the attack was premeditated.

Police said Huffman parked several blocks away and waited for his ex-wife to come outside. He picked up a brick at the scene.

The son was home at the time of the attack. Police were questioning him at a nearby station to try and determine who the target of the attack was.

Turner said the son had taken out a restraining order on his father after a financial dispute over a piece of property.

“We think that may have been some catalyst as to why he showed up here today,” he said.

Chula Vista police were working with Los Angeles County detectives in another county to get a search warrant in the investigation
 

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