A California woman who was stabbed to death along with her father in a Kohl's parking lot outside of Los Angeles penned a disturbing social media post just a few days before the brutal slaying.
McKenna Evans, 22, wrote on Facebook Monday that she was needing to 'find a home' because a 'very toxic person' was moving back into the house they were renting, adding that she did not 'feel safe or comfortable around him.'
Later that week, McKenna and her father Ken Evans, 54, who appeared to be in living out of their parked cars at the retail store lot, were stabbed to death by a man who local authorities believe to be transient. The man was hauled off in handcuffs, but his identity has not been publicly released.
It happened just before noon on Thursday in a seemingly random attack, LA County Sheriff's Department said, but comments on McKenna's post showed concern and then turned to shock as news of their deaths emerged.
The stabbings are just the latest in the escalating crime in Los Angeles while homeless encampments continue to pop up along the city streets.
McKenna Evans (left) who was stabbed to death along with her father Ken Evans (right) in a Kohl's parking lot outside of Los Angeles penned a disturbing social media post just a few days before the brutal slaying
McKenna wrote on Facebook Monday that she was needing to 'find a home' because a 'very toxic person' was moving back into the home they were renting, adding that she did not 'feel safe or comfortable around him'
The father and daughter were stabbed to death by a man who local authorities believe to be transient. The man was hauled off in handcuffs, but his identity has not been released
On Thursday, the father and daughter were working on a car in the parking lot in Palmdale, just north of Los Angeles, when an unidentified man approached them and asked for assistance with his own vehicle, cops said.
An apparent 'argument ensued' which led to a physical fight and the man stabbed both the father and daughter multiple times before being apprehended by sheriff's deputies responding to the call. It is not known what prompted the argument.
McKenna was pronounced dead at the scene and Ken was rushed to a local hospital where he was also pronounced dead.
RELATED ARTICLES
What have you got to hide? LA and NYC REFUSE to hand over... 
'I am completely destroyed': Mother's heartbreak after her...
Share this article
ShareJust days earlier, McKenna shared a post to Facebook about her living situation.
'Hey guys, a lot of things are going on right now, things that are leaving me stressed and scared, and I could really use some prayers,' she began.
'My family still needs to find a home but our case worker hasn't been much help, my boyfriend and I also need to find somewhere else to live because in the house we are renting a room in, a very toxic person is moving back in and I do not feel safe or comfortable around him, I'm still studying for my boards in 2 weeks, and I'm seriously scared and depressed with everything going on.'
She continued: 'I feel like I've lost all hope and I can't manage to scrape any up off the bottom of the barrel. Please just help me pray that things will turn out okay soon. I'm at a loss.'
It's not known if the suspect and the two victims knew each other.
Ken Evans (left) and his 22 year-old-daughter McKenna (right) were killed in a seemingly random attack in a Kohl's parking lot just just before noon on Thursday outside of Los Angeles
Elizabeth Evans, who is Ken's widow and McKenna's mom, said: 'I am completely destroyed.' '(McKenna) wasn't just my daughter, she was my best friend'
McKenna and Ken were both in their own cars parked next to each other. The suspect who stabbed them was parked nearby and appeared to be living from his car, detectives said
In an interview with local news station KTLA on Sunday, Elizabeth Evans, who is Ken's widow and McKenna's mom, described the moment she saw the man suspected of killing her daughter and husband smirk as he was led away in handcuffs by deputies.
'When he was in handcuffs, he smirked,' she said. 'He had a smirk on his face. How dare he? I hope he never gets out of prison.'
As of Monday, the suspect's name had not been publicly released and there were no new updates on the stabbings.
McKenna's mother also spoke about her pain following the slayings.
'I am completely destroyed,' she said. '(McKenna) wasn't just my daughter, she was my best friend,' she added.
She described McKenna as an ambitious young woman and said she was studying to be an aesthetician.
'She was an absolute beacon,' she said. 'She didn't know a stranger. Everybody became her best friend.'
And of her husband Ken, she gushed: 'He loved playing pool, he loved mountain biking, he loved spending time with his daughter. That was Ken — a risk-taker, always adventurous.'
Ken tried to shield his daughter with his body during the attack, Elizabeth said.
'That was Ken — a risk-taker, always adventurous,' she said.
McKenna's mother and Ken's wife Elizabeth Evans said the two were in the Kohl's parking lot working on a car when somebody she believed to be on drugs attacked them both
A witness who wanted to remain anonymous told KTLA news that Ken tried to escape the attack by getting into a car but continued to be stabbed
A woman who witnessed the brutal stabbing but wanted to remain anonymous described to KTLA how the attacker was seemingly targeting McKenna.
She recounted how she saw McKenna screaming and running around the parking lot. She said that he then stabbed her 'in the back, on the side of her ribs and in her stomach.'
'He walked away, came back and started stabbing her again.'
'Then walked away again. Came back. Kicked her, stabbed her two times in the abdomen and walked away,' she added.
She then said she saw Ken being stabbed by the same man.
'He got stabbed a couple of times, and then he was trying to get back into his vehicle where he continued to stab him,' she said.
McKenna's mother described her as ambitious and said that her 22-year-old daughter was training to become an aesthetician
McKenna Evans during her graduation from Highland High School
McKenna with her mother Elizabeth Evans, who said she was 'completely destroyed'
McKenna's boyfriend of eight months Jesse Mercado held Elizabeth in his arms as he tried to hold back tears.
'The first time I met her was at work,' said Jesse. 'The moment she presented herself was the day I fell in love with her.'
He told ABC7: 'All I want from this is just one more time. Just one more time. Can't I just hold her one more time? And say my goodbyes and that's it. Tell her I love her. I'll always love her.'
Thursday's brazen attack comes as crime continues to rise in the Los Angeles area.
Changes in crime since 2021 as reported by the LAPD. Statistics are through October 10
Statistics provided by the LAPD indicated that through October 10 there had been a total of 24,450 violent crimes committed in 2022, up by 3.9 percent from the total in the same period last year, 23,526.
Robbery is up by 14.9 percent since last year and aggravated assault 0.9 percent.
Woke LA DA George Gascon has come under fire for his progressive policies, which he says will lower jail populations - but which critics warn are making the streets less safe.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pa3IpbCmmZmhe6S7ja6iaKaVrMBwrdGtoJyklWJ%2Bcn%2BWbXByb195rrazx62cq2Wjqa6jrsSdZJ2dkam1bpigZoKooJyoerGt0aSgp59doby1ecWaq6GdomLEs7vTnmSdoaOpwrOuyKeeZqifqMFvtNOmow%3D%3D