A former IU student was arrested Nov. 7 on charges related to the stabbing death of his 64-year-old mother in Grover Beach, California.
Levente Laszlo Lazar, 26, was living in Bloomington at the time of his arrest. He was initially held in the Monroe County Correctional Center but will be extradited to California.
Lazar’s mother, Athena Valentiny, was discovered stabbed to death Oct. 25 when police went to her home for a welfare check. Officers said they believe she was killed the day before.
Her home, in the 200 block of South Ninth Street, is less than a five minute walk from the Grover Beach Police Department.
It would have taken Lazar 32 hours to drive to Grover Beach or about five hours to fly from Indianapolis. Initial information released did not indicate how he traveled.
San Luis Obispo County investigators trekked the more than 2,000 miles to Bloomington where they questioned and eventually arrested Lazar on a murder charge, which police say was premeditated.
Bloomington Police Department Capt. Steve Kellams said the investigators worked out of the BPD headquarters for a couple of days, but his department did not have any other involvement in the case.
In its initial press release after finding Valentiny, the Grover Beach Police Department asked for the public’s help in one key detail of the case — Valentiny’s missing dog.
The dog, the press release said, was her “constant companion” but could not be found in her home after the stabbing.
Police believe the dog, also named Athena, ran from the home between Oct. 24 and 25.
According to Lazar’s Facebook page, he studied U.S. history at IU and worked as a graduate student instructor. The page also says he is from Budapest, Hungary, and goes by Levi.
A spokesperson for the University said Lazar was not enrolled as a student as of Fall 2018.
Court records indicate Lazar had not previously been arrested in Indiana.
