TRACY -- Police have identified the 62-year-old woman who was fatally wounded at a motel Saturday night as Tracy resident Lalita Patel.
Patel's family owns and manages the Hacienda Inn motel, where Patel was found and a naked, combative suspect was arrested about 7:15 p.m., according to Tracy police Capt. John Espinoza.
Detectives were still working Monday to fully understand what had happened just after 7 p.m. Saturday night at the motel in the 600 block of W. 11th Street, police Sgt. Steve Beukelman said.
Police had gotten multiple 911 calls reporting a naked man attacking women at the motel's office, he said. Officers headed to the scene where they found Tracy resident Stephen Carreiro, 25, naked and aggressive, and ended up in a prolonged struggle with him before he was finally arrested, Beukelman said.
They also found the victim badly injured in a room adjacent to the motel's office. Both she and Carreiro were hospitalized, and she was later pronounced dead. An autopsy was conducted Monday on Patel, but the coroner would not disclose the cause of death.
Carreiro is expected to recover from his injuries and was booked into San Joaquin County jail without bail on suspicion of murder, burglary and resisting police. He is scheduled to make his first court appearance Tuesday.
Police are still investigating the nature of the attack, including whether drugs or alcohol were involved, and whether Carreiro had sexually assaulted
Staff writer Daniel M. Jimenez contributed to this report. Contact Sean Maher at 925-943-8013. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/OneSeanMaher.


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