Overview

• Erick Escamilla, 27, was arrested Thursday at a West Hills hospital on suspicion of murdering Menashe Hidra in his Valley Village apartment.
• Hidra’s body was discovered on April 26 during a welfare check, three days after neighbors reported shouting and a struggle to 911, but police did not enter the apartment at the time.
• Investigators believe the suspect entered a neighboring vacant apartment through a skylight before crossing balconies to attack Hidra.
• Escamilla had prior misdemeanor charges for trespass and resisting arrest and was free on $10,000 bail at the time of the killing.
• The LAPD has launched internal investigations into officers’ handling of this case and another in Woodland Hills, while dismissing false rumors of a serial killer in the area.