A man who attacked a family in their unincorporated Redwood City home, killing one person before he was killed, was a stalker, one of the survivors said yesterday (Aug. 12).
The attacker, Waley Cheong, 23, of San Francisco, was one of the two people who died during the attack on Tuesday (Aug. 11) morning at 551 Sequoia Ave. in the Sequoia Tract.
Cheong had been arrested in May for making “criminal threats” against the family.
He had been released from jail pending a hearing in October.
Cheong was initially described to police dispatchers as an ex-boyfriend of one of the residents, but Sada Jalalian, 20, told the Post that Cheong was not her ex-boyfriend. She said he was “an acquaintance from school who became a stalker and abuser.”
Cheong stabbed the woman’s 65-year-old father and her 54-year-old mother, who was pronounced dead on the scene, according to Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman.
Cheong also attacked Jalalian, who grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed Cheong, according to police radio transmissions. Jalalian sustained cuts to her hands.
‘Horrific’ murder scene
Menlo Park Fire Capt. Matt Menard, who along with a team of paramedics from the fire district were sent to the home, described the scene at the home as “horrific.”
Menard’s team, along with sheriff’s deputies, worked to get Jalalian and her father to the hospital as soon as they could.
Wagstaffe said that he will be reviewing the case, as is the protocol when any murder occurs in the county, but “on its face” Cheong’s death appears to be justifiable.
The home is located in the Sequoia Tract area between Redwood City and Atherton, on Sequoia Avenue between Stockbridge Avenue and Selby Lane.
Sheriff’s detectives are trying to collect more information about the attack. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Detective Joe Fava at 650-363-4192 or
jfava@smcgov.org.