Metro train stabbing suspect turns himself in to police, charged with murder

A 19-year-old man has turned himself in in connection with the fatal stabbing of a Metro train rider near downtown Los Angeles, police officials announced Thursday.

Police said Carlos Carrillo-Martinez walked into the 77th Street police station early Thursday and admitted he was the person police were seeking. The prior evening, LAPD detectives had released a photo to the media of a man wanted in the fatal stabbing of a Metro passenger Tuesday. Detectives described the suspect as a man wearing a black sweater with white lettering on the front, light blue jeans and black shoes.

Carrillo-Martinez admitted that he was the person seen in the police flyer and was interviewed by detectives, authorities said. He was arrested and booked on suspicion of murder and is being held on $2-million bail.

On Tuesday, 27-year-old Jalil Sosa Illera was found near the 2400 block of South Flower Street after police officers from the Newton police station received reports of an assault with a deadly weapon around 3:45 p.m., the LAPD said in a news release. Paramedics arrived at the scene and took Illera to a hospital, where he died from his injuries.

Investigators determined that Illera was stabbed multiple times during an argument on a Metro train earlier in the day.

“Police and emergency medical personnel immediately responded to the station and performed life saving measures, however the victim unfortunately did not survive his injuries. Metro extends its condolences to the family and friends of the victim and is supporting the Los Angeles Police Department as it conducts an investigation,” Metro said in a statement.

Previous advisories from the LAPD said the victim walked home after the stabbing.

Homicide investigators will present their case to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office after they complete their investigation. The circumstances surrounding the motive of the stabbing are still unclear.