NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A well-known Lake County Realtor has died after being attacked with a knife by her grandson at her daughter's Bay Area home.
Joan Lila Lininger, 85, of Lakeport, was mortally wounded in the Wednesday night incident and her 35-year-old grandson, Tyler Benjamin Haskell, later taken into custody, according to Livermore Police Department spokesman Officer Ryan Sanchez.
The Livermore Police Department reported that shortly after 7:30 p.m. Wednesday officers responded to the 5300 block of Hillflower Drive for a report of an assault with a deadly weapon.
Sanchez said the assault occurred at the home of Lininger's daughter, 62-year-old Karla Haskell.
When officers arrived at Karla Haskell's home, they found both her and her mother with stab wounds. Before their arrival, Tyler Haskell had fled the scene, police said.
Based on the preliminary investigation, police said Tyler Haskell stabbed his mother and grandmother with a kitchen knife. Lininger died but Karla Haskell had non-life threatening injuries.
Following a search of the area, police officers found Tyler Haskell approximately one mile away from his mother's home in the 1300 block of North Vasco Road and arrested him without incident shortly after 8 p.m., officials reported.
As for why Tyler Haskell attacked his mother and grandmother, Sanchez said the motive is unknown. However, police said Tyler Haskell suffers from various mental illnesses.
Haskell was arrested for first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon, and booked into the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin on Thursday morning. He is being held without bail, according to jail records.
Sanchez said Haskell has not yet been formally charged.
Due to the Veterans Day holiday, “He more than likely will not be charged until Monday,” Sanchez said.
Jail booking records showed that Haskell is due to be arraigned in court on Monday afternoon.
Lininger worked as a Realtor in Lake County for nearly 25 and had recently retired, according to Scott Knickmeyer, the association executive of the Lake County Association of Realtors.
“She was with City Center Realty and was well respected and well liked throughout the Lake County real estate community,” said Knickmeyer.
He added, “We are all shocked and saddened by this news. She will be greatly missed.”
Lininger was born in San Francisco and had lived in Lake County since 1970, according to her profile on the City Center Web site.
Before becoming a Realtor, Lininger had owned and operated Scotts Valley Nursery for 18 years with her husband, Bob. She received her real estate license in 1992 and she and her husband sold the nursery business in 1994.
Bob Lininger died on Oct. 3.
Joan Lininger is survived by four daughters, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
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