Itzcoatl Ocampo, 23, of Yorba Linda, was captured in Yorba Linda Friday night by witnesses who chased him from the scene of a fatal attack that occurred about a quarter-mile away behind a Carl's Jr. at 3110 E. La Palma Ave.
in Anaheim.
The victim was John Berry, a man of 64 or 65 who slept along the bed of the Santa Ana River, described himself as a Vietnam veteran and reportedly recently told people someone had been watching him. People who saw Berry in front of the restaurant and a nearby CVS pharmacy told broadcast outlets he was a nice guy, not an aggressive beggar.
He was very worried about me," Refugio Ocampo, 49, said Sunday. "I told him, 'Don't worry, I'm a survivor. Nothing will happen to me.'"
The suspect came back a changed man after serving in Iraq, his father said. His son expressed disillusionment and became darker as his family life frayed and he struggled to make his way.
The 23-year-old Ocampo is awaiting charges in connection with the serial killings of four homeless men since last December.
Police arrested Itzcoatl Ocampo on Jan. 13 after a locally known homeless man, John Berry, 54, was stabbed to death outside a Carl's Jr. restaurant in Anaheim. Bystanders gave chase, and police made the arrest.
Refugio Ocampo said that on Jan. 11, his son came to him with a picture of his first victim, 53-year-old James Patrick McGillivary, who was killed Dec. 20.
"This is what is happening," the father quoted his son saying.
Ocampo's family says Itzcoatl was never the same after he was discharged from service in 2010. When he received news of his friend's death in Afghanistan, he "was never the same," his family explains.
His family described a physical condition Itzcoatl suffered in which his hands shook and he suffered headaches. Medical treatments helped until he started drinking. His father said, "He started drinking like crazy, too much, way too much.
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