Daughter held in brutal stabbing
CLOVIS — A 40-year-old Clovis woman is facing both murder and child endangerment charges following the discovery Monday morning of her mother, who was stabbed to death while the daughter’s four young children were inside the home.
Angelica Hadley is accused of killing 64-year-old Maria Arrellano inside Hadley’s residence off of the 1600 block of Fowler Avenue. Arellano suffered multiple stab wounds and was discovered face down in the living room on the floor by police investigators around 10:30 a.m Monday.
Clovis police were originally at the home on Sunday night when it was first reported that Hadley went missing. After she returned home around 9:30 p.m, police believe that an argument and the stabbing occurred a short time later.
Hadley’s young girls, ages 3 to 9, were inside their rooms and unharmed during the attack, but witnessed the murder scene.
Clovis police spokesperson Janet Stoll-Lee said detectives had to spend some time with the girls after the incident.
“Our detectives have been talking to them,” Stoll-Lee said. “If they wandered out, it had to be a horrible sight for them. But they had to hear something, you would think, because with that there would be a lot of pain.”
Arellano, who resided in Los Angeles, was in Clovis visiting her daughter and grandchildren. The girls have now been turned over to Fresno County’s Children and Family Services agency.
Officers were first called to the home Monday morning to conduct a welfare check. Hadley had gone for a walk near the area, but tried to run when she saw crime tape and officers at her home, Stoll-Lee said. Hadley was booked into the county jail on one count of murder and four counts of child endangerment.
