A San Rafael woman was arrested on allegations she stabbed her mother to death during a fight at an apartment complex, police said Tuesday.
Tonantzyn Oris Beltran, 28, was booked into the Marin County Jail on suspicion of murder. She is being held without a bail amount.
The coroner’s office has not released the name of the 55-year-old victim.
San Rafael police and firefighters were notified about a fight and a possible stabbing around 5 p.m. Monday at the Highlands of Marin apartment complex on Cresta Way, a street off Smith Ranch Road.
Police arrived to see Beltran on the rear balcony of an apartment. Her clothes were “soaked in blood” and the wounded woman was next to her, said police Sgt. Justin Graham.
Police forced their way into the apartment through its front door and detained Beltran while firefighters gave medical aid to her mother. Paramedics took her to a hospital and she died there about 90 minutes later.
The incident was broadcast by Beltran via the Facebook Live social media platform, according to police. Graham said that San Rafael detectives contacted the platform’s operator, Meta, and had the video removed. Viewers earlier contacted the police about the video, he said.
Beltran also produced other social media videos, including a recorded Monday visit to the Santa Rosa police station lobby, authorities said.
Santa Rosa police Sgt. Patricia Seffens said that Beltran visited the station to get a police release for a towed vehicle. She said that the staff has viewed the suspect’s social media video and are reviewing their own footage of the visit.
“This was just recently brought to our attention and we are currently reviewing all of the information provided to us by the San Rafael police,” Seffens said late Tuesday.
The police investigation is continuing, Graham said.
“We’re still trying to sort through details on what led up to it and what the motive of this murder is,” he said.
Gary Bendana, a neighbor at the apartment complex, recalled walking his dog late Monday afternoon and hearing a loud moaning noise.
He said he followed the sound and saw officers with guns drawn ordering Beltran to stay in place on a balcony as the victim lay next to her. The police then entered her apartment and handcuffed her soon as she began to back inside. Bendana said he did not know the victim.
“For this to happen yesterday, it blows me away,” he said.
Related Articles
Wounded found shot on Pajaro River levee seeks a new home
Santa Cruz cannabis cultivator charged with shooting attempted burglars released from house arrest
Shooting over the weekend in Berkeley injures one
Man robbed of pickup truck at gunpoint in Redwood City
Alameda County DA Pamela Price’s office appeals ruling barring her from prosecuting longtime critic
The incident is San Rafael’s first murder case since June 2022, when a man was fatally shot near the intersection of Medway Road and Mill Street in the city’s Canal neighborhood.
Beltran’s initial court appearance is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday in Marin County Superior Court, said sheriff’s Sgt. Adam Schermerhorn.
In an online resume, Beltran wrote that she works as a Spanish translator. During her booking at the jail, she identified her occupation as “escort.”
She has at least one arrest in her past. In 2013, she and a companion were arrested on allegations of drug sales after Sausalito police saw them snorting suspected cocaine on a sailboat.
Because her companion was on probation and subject to random searches, police boarded the boat and found packets of suspected cocaine, suspected methamphetamine, a scale and three cellphones.
