TEMPE, Ariz. – Police said the Lyft passenger accused of stabbing and killing his pregnant driver had a history in Arizona.
Tempe Police said Monday Fabian Durazo’s original intent was to steal the mother’s SUV.
Kristina Howato was a mother of two with a third child on the way.
Sgt. Ron Elcock with the Tempe Police Department said Durazo stabbed Kristina Howato to death Sunday morning as she dropped him off at an apartment complex.
“Durazo admitted to stabbing the victim and taking her vehicle,” Sgt. Elcock said.
The community was left wondering why.
A look into the suspect’s background revealed he was an aspiring model.
Photographer Mio Asuma shared headshots of Durazo with 12 News and said when he shot them, the suspect, “was very nice and very polite ... I'm surprised he did something like that."
“I know at one time he was a Tempe resident,” Sgt. Elcock said.
A spokesperson with Arizona State University told 12 News Durazo took classes at ASU for a year in the fall of 2016. Durazo’s major was undeclared.
“We don’t know where he was going. We know that he has family in California,” Elcock said.
Durazo was arrested about 25 miles from the Arizona-California state line, near Quartzsite.