Navy SEAL arrested in Santa Monica slaying

A Navy SEAL has been arrested on suspicion of beating and stabbing a man to death not long after the pair were involved in a fistfight on the Santa Monica Pier, police said.

Theo Andrew Krah, 28, was arrested Monday in San Diego in connection with the man’s death, said Santa Monica police Lt. Saul Rodriguez.

Police have identified the victim only as a Santa Monica resident.

Officers were called to break up a fight between Krah and the man on the pier around 4 p.m. Saturday, according to Rodriguez. Nobody was arrested or injured in that incident, he said.

Roughly an hour later however, the other man was found lying in the 1300 block of 5th Street – about a half-mile from the pier – suffering from head trauma and stab wounds, according to police.

The man died from his injuries at 4:40 a.m. Sunday at an area hospital.

Krah and the victim did not know each other before Saturday’s fight, Rodriguez said.

Krah, is being held on $2 million bail.

A Navy Personnel Command spokeswoman said she couldn’t comment on Krah’s arrest because he was a SEAL.

Navy spokesman Zach Keating in San Diego said he would only confirm that Krah is a petty officer 2nd class assigned to a West Coast-based special warfare unit.

According to the Naval Special Warfare Command, the group has eight SEAL teams, one SEAL delivery vehicle team, three special boats and supporting units. About 9,200 personnel, including more than 2,700 active duty special warfare operators and 700 special warfare boat operators, make up the unit.

The Navy SEAL website describes the Naval Special Warfare Command is a “small, elite force.”

Krah, who enlisted in 2012, was awarded a Korean Defense Service medal after serving in South Korea, Keating said. He also earned a sea service deployment ribbon.

The Navy is cooperating with the Santa Monica Police Department in its investigation, Keating said.

The Navy’s Criminal Investigation Service is also looking into Krah’s arrest.

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