Arrests Made in “Craigslist Murder” of SoCal Father

By Samantha Tata | NBC 4 News
Monday, Oct 28, 2013 | Updated 12:12 PM PDT

Arrests have been made in the case of a Southern California father who was killed in front of his teenage son while the pair responded to an ad posted on Craigslist, the Los Angeles Police Department announced Monday.

Two people are in custody in connection with the slaying. LAPD said investigators would reveal more details, including the suspects’ identities and how they were caught, at a 3 p.m. news conference.

The arrests come more than a week after Rene Balbuena, 41, was shot and killed near 92nd Street and Gramercy Place. He was in the area responding to an online ad for a cellphone with his 15-year-old son.

The pair was sitting in a car at the intersection when the two suspects approached their car and demanded money, investigators said. Balbuena exited the car and one of the robbers opened fire.

The father of two was shot multiple times in the upper torso and pronounced dead at a hospital. His 15-year-old son was treated at a hospital for a graze wound.

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