| For Immediate Release August 16, 2006 |
Contact: | Susan Schroeder Public Affairs Counsel (714) 347-8408 Office (714) 323-4486 Cell |
WESTMINSTER – A woman will be in court tomorrow to face murder charges for stabbing and killing an 18-year-old man in a Huntington Beach hotel. Samantha Elizabeth Rothwell, 20, of Valencia, is charged with murder and an enhancement for using a knife. She is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow, August 17, 2006, at 1:30 p.m. in Westminster at West Justice Center. If convicted, she faces life in prison. The prosecution is asking for $5 million bail, as the defendant poses a flight risk.
On August 15, 2006, Rothwell is accused of being at the Hotel Huntington Beach with a group of friends and acquaintances. The group had spent the previous day partying and had returned to the hotel, where they were standing outside on a patio smoking. Rothwell is accused of becoming angry with Walter Rivas, 18, and returning to the hotel room to get a knife from her purse. She is accused of returning to the balcony and murdering Rivas by stabbing.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Sonia Balleste of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
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