Two people were found dead on Monday afternoon following an attack that was captured on Zoom, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Deputies deputies responded to a residence in Alta Dena after receiving a 911 call of a possible kidnapping in progress at around 2.45 p.m. on Monday.
When deputies arrived at the scene, they found a body of a black male in the driveway of the home and a black female was found deceased inside. The man had been stabbed multiple times and both victims were in their 60s, the sheriff's department said in a press release.
Colleague Witnessed the Attack on Zoom
The female victim was reportedly on a Zoom call with a colleague when the other victim was attacked. The colleague alerted law enforcement after seeing the violence take place in the background.
"The Zoom caller witnessed the attack on both the male and female and called 911 to report the crime," the sheriff's department said in a news release.
"The male was inside the house," Lt. Barry Hall of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Division told NBC Los Angeles. "The lady was still talking on the Zoom when the male was dragged out of the house. That alerted her. Then, the suspect went inside and attacked her."
Suspect Arrested, Charged with Murder
As deputies continued their investigation, they learned that a vehicle was missing from the residence. During their investigation, a man drove up in the victim's missing car and said he lived at the home. The suspect, identified as Robert Cotton, 32, was detained and booked on two counts of murder, according to authorities. According to to CBS Los Angeles, Cotton was a relative of the female victim.
Similar Incidents
This is not the first time a murder has been captured on a live Zoom call. A father in New York's Long Island was stabbed to death by his adult son during a Zoom meeting with as many as 20 other participants witnessing the murder on the live broadcast in May 2020, as previously reported.
In a separate incident that took place in August last year, a Florida man shot and killed his ex-girlfriend in front of six children, including her 10-year-old daughter who was in the middle of an online class on Zoom.
