Man sought in brutal chainsaw attack of wife in front of couple’s 3 children

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Detectives have described Alvarez as a Hispanic male, 5’ 3”, 130 lbs, with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a brown “Hurley” t-shirt and dark jeans. He is believed to be driving a stolen 2004 Mercury Mountaineer, SUV, 4-door, blue/tan in color with California license plate number 8ABD233.

Whittier police and other emergency personnel responded to a home on the 7700 block of Milton Ave., in Whittier around 3 p.m., after receiving reports of a domestic violence incident and attempted murder at the home.

“We hear a lady scream, ‘Help me! Help me! Call 911!'” Enrique Avila later told ABC7.

“They just kept screaming,” witness Darian Pickle explained. “Then I heard what sounded like a chainsaw. I was like what’s going on?”

Witnesses described seeing Alvarez run to the couple’s car moments later and flee from the scene.

“He looked like he was showered in blood,” witness Raquel Sanchez said of the alleged suspect after the gruesome attack.

According to officials, about 10 minutes after fleeing from the home Alvarez crashed into another vehicle in Santa Fe Springs. He fled from the scene of the accident on foot and stole an SUV that had been left running and unattended. He hasn’t been seen since.

When police and other emergency first responders arrived at the couple’s home they found the victim, identified as Gloria Mojica, “suffering from traumatic physical injuries, believed to have been inflicted by a chainsaw,” Whittier PD explained in a social media release asking for help locating the alleged suspect.

Another witness, who requested to not be identified, described that after the suspect fled from the home, he saw the bloody and severely injured victim and two of her “blood splattered” sons exit the home.

“She came outside and I saw the kids,” the man explained. “They were all covered with blood. They were all hysterical, screaming.”

Officers found the couple’s children, between the ages 5 and 10, uninjured but covered in blood.

Mojica was rushed to an area trauma center to undergo immediate surgery and her condition is unknown at this time.

Authorities say they recovered a blood-soaked chainsaw at the scene, but still consider Alvarez armed and dangerous.

 

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Trevor Montgomery, 47, recently moved to Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations, including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook, as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and The Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.