Isabella Guzman, Aurora 18-Year-Old, Allegedly Stabbed Mother 79 Times

HuffingtonPost.com

September 6, 2013

An 18-year-old in Colorado is facing first-degree murder charges after allegedly stabbing her mother in the face and neck 79 times.

The teen's stepfather, Ryan Hoy, called Aurora Police to the home on the night of Aug. 28 when he saw blood pooling under the door of the upstairs bathroom. According to the arrest affidavit, Hoy told dispatch that police had already been called to the house earlier that day because his stepdaughter, Isabella Guzman, had allegedly threatened her mother Yun-Mi Hoy in an email telling her, "You will pay."

Guzman's biological father, Robert Guzman, also claimed he had a talk with Isabella before the 911 call.

"I went to talk to Isabella and we sat down in the backyard looking at the trees and the animals and I started to talk to her about the respect that people should have for their parents," Robert Guzman told 7News. "And I was trying to let her know that she should be obedient to her parents, not rebellious, that she should try to listen more and everything was going fine. In the conversation, I thought that I made progress. But obviously it didn't do nothing, because hours later, this thing happened."

While on the phone with dispatch, Hoy said that at first he was unable to open the door because Guzman wouldn't let him enter and he heard Yun-Mi Hoy say "Jehovah" before the bathroom door opened.

"Hoy then observed Isabella Guzman standing in the doorway holding a knife," the affidavit reads. "Hoy advised that he never heard Guzman say anything and that she didn't speak to him as she exited the bathroom... [she] was just staring straight ahead when she walked past him."

Hoy told dispatch that Guzman left wearing a pink sports bra and turquoise shorts, taking the knife with her. While performing chest compressions on his wife, Hoy said he believed his wife was already dead because she was staring blankly ahead.

When officers arrived on the scene, they found Yun-Mi Hoy lying naked on the bathroom floor covered in blood next to a baseball bat. An autopsy found that she had suffered 31 stabs to the face and 48 stab wounds to the neck.

Guzman was found by police the next day in a nearby parking garage and was arrested. She was due to be formally charged in Arapahoe County court on Thursday morning, but the judge was forced to push back the court date until later in the afternoon because Guzman refused to come out of her cell.

At the beginning of her hearing, 9News reports that Guzman was smiling and made faces at the courtroom camera. She is being held without bond and is facing charges of first-degree murder and two counts of a crime of violence.

Guzman, who turned 18 in June, will be charged as an adult and is eligible for the death penalty.

Isabella Guzman charged with first-degree murder in mom's stabbing death

By Kim Nguyen - TheDenverChannel.com

September 5, 2013

AURORA, Colo. - The 18-year-old suspected of stabbing her mother 79 times in the face and neck appeared in court Thursday to be formally charged with murder.

Isabella Guzman smiled briefly at the beginning of hearing as she listened to her attorney and the judge.

The judge informed her she will be facing one count of first-degree murder and two counts of crime of violence, a sentence-enhancing charge.

Wearing an orange jumpsuit and shackles on her wrists and legs, Guzman listened intently as the judge started reading the complaint against her. Toward the end of her hearing, Guzman's eyes begin tearing up and she looked into the camera and pointed to her eyes as if to draw attention to that fact. She was also making a face at the camera.

Thursday's morning hearing was pushed back to the afternoon because Guzman refused to leave her jail cell, according to court officials.

Guzman is accused of killing her mother on Aug. 28.

Court documents indicate that Guzman had a contentious relationship with her mother, Yun-Mi Hoy, who had been concerned enough with her threatening behavior to call police that day.

Aurora police officers came to their house and warned Guzman that her mom could kick her out for her behavior.

It seemed to calm her down, but later that night, after her mother went to take a shower after work, Guzman's stepfather heard a thump. He ran upstairs and saw blood oozing out from under the bathroom door.

Court documents indicate that he later saw Guzman leaving the bathroom with a knife in her hand, staring straight ahead and not saying a word.

Her mother was found naked, lying next to a baseball bat, surrounded by blood.

Guzman fled the home, but police arrested her the next day not far from her house, near a parking lot at South Parker Road and South Havana Street.

Outside Guzman's home now, there are two dumpsters in the front yard filled with stuffed animals, jewelry and other belongings. There was also a picture of a younger Guzman on the ground by the dumpsters.

Isabella Guzman, suspect in Aurora stabbing, to mom: "You will pay"

By Sadie Gurman - The Denver Post

August 30, 2013

CENTENNIAL — Isabella Guzman, accused of fatally stabbing her mother 79 times in Aurora, sent her an e-mail the day before that said, "You will pay," according to an arrest affidavit filed Friday.

Guzman and her mother often fought, but the teenager had become "more threatening and disrespectful" toward Yun-Mi Hoy in recent days, her stepfather, Ryan Hoy, told authorities. Her mother had grown so fearful that she called Aurora police, who on Wednesday afternoon warned Guzman that her mother could kick her out of their home if she did not shape up.

Hours later, officers returned to the home in the 2600 block of South Lima Street to find Yun-Mi Hoy dead in an upstairs bathroom, the affidavit said.

Guzman, 18, who was arrested Thursday after a 16-hour manhunt, appeared Friday before Arapahoe County Judge Stephen F. Collins, who ordered her to remain jailed without bond on suspicion of first-degree murder. She sat silently in an orange jumpsuit, a bandage on her right wrist.

Yun-Mi Hoy came home from work about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday and took a shower, Ryan Hoy told police. Soon after, he heard a "thumping" and his wife calling his name. Guzman was pushing up against the bathroom door keeping him from opening it, according to the affidavit.

He went downstairs to call the police, and when he returned he said he saw Guzman standing in the bathroom doorway holding a knife, and his wife on the floor, covered in blood. There was a baseball bat beneath her.

"He never heard Guzman say anything, and she didn't speak to him as she exited the bathroom," the affidavit says. "Guzman was just staring straight ahead when she walked past him."

Homicide detectives offered no clues about a motive, but Ryan Hoy told them the teenager had been a challenge. His wife had sent Guzman to live with her biological father when she was about 7 because her behavior had become so difficult.

But Guzman's aunt, Melanie Guzman, said she saw a typical teenager when she visited the family a few months ago. Guzman could get angry, but violence seemed outside her character. Her mother spoiled her, she said.

She said she feels aspects of the police investigation remain undone and "there's something more to it."

"Her demeanor is pretty sweet. She's very coquette. I can see her yelling, screaming and storming off and locking herself in her room and turning on her iPod," Guzman said. "But not being violent like that."

Affidavit: 18-year-old Aurora woman, Isabella Guzman, stabbed mother 79 times in face and neck

Teen told mom: 'You will pay'

By Alan Gathright - TheDenverChannel.com

August 30, 2013

CENTENNIAL, Colo. - Eighteen-year-old Isabella Yun-Mi Guzman emailed her mother "you will pay" and later spit in her face on the day before she allegedly killed her mother by stabbing her 79 times in her face and neck in the bathroom of their Aurora home, according to court records.

An autopsy showed the mother, 47-year-old Yun-Mi Hoy, died after being stabbed repeatedly in the face and neck, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by 7NEWS.

The teen's stepfather, Ryan Hoy, said his wife was attacked as she went to take a shower in an upstairs bathroom on Wednesday night. The stepfather told police he was eating dinner downstairs when he heard a thumping sound upstairs and his wife calling his name.

The stepfather said he rushed upstairs and heard the shower running and tried to push his way through the closed bathroom door. He said he caught a glimpse of Isabella, who pushed the door shut with her back and locked it.

Ryan Hoy said he saw blood seeping from under the bathroom door and ran to get his cellphone and called 911, telling a call-taker that he believed his wife was being attacked, the affidavit said.

The stepfather rushed back to the bathroom with 911 still on the phone and heard his wife say "Jehovah," the affidavit said.

Then the bathroom door opened and Isabella walked out, holding a knife downward in her right hand, the stepfather said. He said Isabella never said a word and stared straight ahead as she walked past him and went downstairs.

Ryan Hoy said he looked into the bathroom and saw the naked body of his wife, covered in blood on the floor. Her throat had been slashed, he told police, and a baseball bat was lying under her body.

Following the 911 dispatcher's instructions, Ryan Hoy tried to open his wife's airway and perform CPR. But he later told police his wife's eyes were staring blankly and he thought she was already dead. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The stepfather said Isabella Guzman took the knife and fled the home clad only in a pink athletic bra and turquoise shorts, the affidavit said. She was arrested Thursday afternoon by Aurora police at a parking garage 2851 S. Parker Road, near East Hampden Avenue.

Ryan Hoy said his stepdaughter had argued with her mother often since she was young and, when she was about 7 years old, she had been sent to live with her father, Robert Guzman, for a while.

The stepfather said Isabella had become more "threatening and disrespectful" to her mother recently, including yelling at her mom and spitting in her face on Tuesday. Yun-Mi Hoy was so frightened of her daughter she asked her husband to sleep in the bedroom with her, the stepfather told police.

Then on Wednesday morning Yun-Mi Hoy showed her husband an email her daughter sent her that said in effect "you will pay," Ryan Hoy told police.

This prompted the mother to call police later Wednesday and ask officers to come to the home because her daughter "had threatened to harm her," the affidavit said.

Officers responding to the domestic disturbance arrived at the home and spoke with the mother and daughter, cautioning Isabella that her mother could throw her out of the home for her behavior, Ryan Hoy told police.

The teen's father, Robert Guzman, told 7NEWS he had counseled his daughter at her mother's request just hours before the killing. He said Isabella's mother was concerned about her teenage rebelliousness and her need to respect her elders.

The stepfather said things appeared to have calmed down after the police visit and the teen stayed in her room for the rest of the evening.

On Friday morning, a judge ordered Isabella Guzman held without bond on investigation of first-degree murder.

Guzman had a bandage on her right wrist and was wearing an orange jail jumpsuit during the brief appearance in Arapahoe County court, our partners at The Denver Post reported. She is being held in the Arapahoe County Jail.

Suspected homicide evidence found at parking garage

Officers detained the teen after someone called 911 about 11:30 a.m to report a "body" inside a car in the parking garage on South Parker Road. Arriving officers found the car, but no one was inside.

"They did find items in the car, however, that led them to believe these items were related to the earlier homicide," Aurora police spokesman Frank Fania said.

Police called in undercover officers to help search the garage and "additional items were found that were believed to be involved [in the homicide] as well," Fania said.

A police K-9 team joined the search.

"At one point, Guzman was seen by officers walking out of the garage. She was then detained and taken to headquarters," Fania said.

Glenn Petty, who works in a nearby office building, said his secretary drew his attention to a handler with a dog searching the parking lot outside.

Petty said he saw a man dressed like a motorcycle gang member, who turned out to be an undercover officer, walking into the parking garage as a young woman walked out. Petty said the man and the woman briefly spoke and then she turned and walked away into a parking lot.

The first undercover officer followed the woman and was soon joined by two other plain clothes officers as they surrounded the young woman, who was carrying a plastic shopping bag.

"Suddenly, all three officers pulled guns" and the woman sat down next to a bush on a raised parking lot median, Petty said.

"It was very smoothly and very professionally done," Petty said. "It gave me a good feeling about the Aurora Police Department."

Family 'heartbroken' by death

Robert Guzman spoke to 7NEWS before his daughter's arrest. He said the family was stunned by the death of his ex-wife.

"We're heartbroken. Of course we're upset over the death of my ex-wife," Robert Guzman said.

The father said he went to talk with Isabella at his ex-wife's request about three hours before the killing at the home where Isabella lived with her mother.

The father indicated Isabella had been engaging in teen rebelliousness.

"I went to talk to her because her mother was worried and wanted me to talk to Isabella," Robert Guzman said. "So, I went to talk to Isabella and we sat down in the backyard looking at the trees and the animals and I started to talk to her about the respect that people should have for their parents. And I was trying to let her know that she should be obedient to her parents, not rebellious, that she should try to listen more and everything was going fine.

"In the conversation, I thought that I made progress, but obviously it didn't do nothing, because hours later, this thing happened," the father said.

"Isabella is a good kid, she's a good hearted," Robert Guzman said. "But I don't know what could've happened, honestly, to provoke this kind of reaction."

Facebook photos show teen in 'Hello Kitty' T-shirt

If there's a murder suspect stereotype, Guzman doesn't look the part.

The teen -- who goes by the nickname "Isa" -- looks like a beauty queen or model in photos on her Facebook page.

Her page has a photo of a watermelon slice with the word "Love" carved into it. There's also a photo of her wearing a 'Hello Kitty' T-shirt and jeans standing in front of a rock band set from a singing competition last year.

Teen daughter questioned in slaying of woman in Aurora home

By Kieran Nicholson, Carlos Illescas and Sadie Gurman - The Denver Post

August 29, 2013

AURORA —Police late Thursday were questioning an 18-year-old woman in connection with the stabbing death of her mother in the family's south Aurora home 16 hours earlier.

Detectives were not formally holding Isabella Guzman for investigation of homicide because she wasn't carrying positive identification. But they said no other suspects were being sought.

Guzman was detained as she was leaving the parking garage of a Parker Road office building late Thursday afternoon.

Police had been called to the garage after reports of a body inside a car. They found no body, but did find items in the car and around the garage they say are linked to Guzman's mother's slaying, police spokesman Frank Fania said Thursday night.

The suspect's father, Robert Guzman, said his daughter and her mother, whom he identified as his ex-wife, Yun Mi Hoy, "were getting into fights all the time."

He said Isabella Guzman spit on her mother's face the night before the slaying.

Police were called about 10 p.m. Wednesday to the home in the 2600 block of South Lima Street on a family disturbance, Fania said. When officers arrived, a man at the front door told them a woman was upstairs in need of help.

Emergency medical responders arrived a short time later and the woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have not officially released her identity.

The victim appeared to have at least one stab wound, said Fania, who was at the scene. He described the incident as gruesome.

Robert Guzman said police came to his home late Wednesday and told him his ex-wife had been killed. She had called him the night before the stabbing, saying she and her daughter had gotten into a bad fight.

"It's heartbreaking," he said.

Robert Guzman said his ex-wife owned Bella's Portrait Studio at the Town Center at Aurora, and often worked long, 12-hour days. His daughter sometimes worked at her mother's studio, he said.

"She was really a hard-working woman," he said of his ex-wife. "She tried really, really hard for her family, but Isabella didn't appreciate anything she did for her."

Isabella Guzman dropped out of Overland High School, her father said.

Denver Post online producer Daniel J. Schneider and researcher Vickie Makings contributed to this report.