Santa Barbara man accused of killing father charged with first-degree murder
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - A Santa Barbara man has been arrested and booked into jail on suspicion of killing his 72-year-old father and assaulting another man.
On Thursday, July 15, Santa Barbara County Sheriff's deputies responded to a home on the 600 block of La Cumbre Road for a welfare check.
"The call originally came in as a check the welfare where we were asked to go and check in on what is now the decedent, and the circumstances were not immediately clear, It wasn't immediately clear that it was a homicide, so the case has been evolving, " said the Sheriff's Public Information Officer Raquel Zick.
Deputies contacted 29-year-old Casey Tolivar of Santa Barbara who was accused of attacking and seriously injuring a man with an object. The victim fled the home before deputies arrived on scene. In addition to the assault, deputies located a 72-year-old man who was dead inside the home. The deceased man was identified as Casey's father, Bradley Tolivar of Santa Barbara.
Detectives initially took Casey Tolivar into custody on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon for the earlier assault and booked him into the Santa Barbara County Main Jail.
Detective believed Bradley Tolivar's death was suspicious and did some more investigating.
Casey Tolivar was soon booked again on suspicion of murder. An autopsy revealed that Tolivar was killed as a result of blunt force trauma.
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office has filed three charges against Casey Tolivar. They include first-degree murder and attempted murder. The DA's office alleged Casey Tolivar killed his father with a 33-inch steel bar and used both a rock and a glass bottle in the previous assault.
A next door neighbor said she saw the younger Tolivar looking upset outside the home the day before police taped off one of two driveways at the home. She said she could tell something was wrong, but she did not speak to him.
Tolivar remains in jail where he is currently being held on $2.03 million bail. He was scheduled to make his first court appearance in the case on Tuesday.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office.
