70-Year-Old California Engineer Beaten To Death Outside His Home; Suspect Arrested

A 70-year old CalTrans engineer was beaten to death by a stranger outside his home in California Monday. A 30-year-old man was arrested by Anaheim Police in connection with the murder.

Officers were called to the intersection of Catalpa Avenue and Falmouth Avenue following reports of an in-progress assault, said a statement by Anaheim Police. On arrival, responding officers found Rahmatolah Yaghoubi with severe head trauma, reports KLTA 5.

There was no evidence of a weapon and according to police, it was a bare-knuckled attack in broad daylight.

"He was alive when he arrived at the hospital. He did go into emergency surgery. Unfortunately after about an hour and a half later, he did die of the injuries he sustained," Anaheim Police Department spokesman Sgt. Shane Carringer told NBC Los Angeles.

However, just before Yaghoubi was attacked, officers had learned about a similar attack at the 1300 block of Devonshire Road. However, the first victim, a 60-year-old man, was able to chase off the suspect and call the police.

"A local resident here was in his front yard and was assaulted by an unknown male here. That attack appeared to be random," Sgt. Shane Carringer said. "While officers were on scene taking that report, we received a call about an assault and battery in progress here at the intersection of Falmouth and Catalpa."

However, by Monday night, police announced that the suspect was in custody. "That suspect is David Abbott, a 30-year-old male adult resident of Anaheim. He was contacted by police and taken into custody. He was arrested for the murder of our 70-year-old victim," Carringer said.

Abbott, from Anaheim, was recently released after being charged for an assault with a deadly weapon incident that happened on May 15. He posted a $100,000 bond on May 20.

He is being held on a $2 million bail at the Anaheim Jail now. The police have also asked anyone with information about Abbott or the case to contact Anaheim Police Department Homicide Detectives at 714-321-3669.

Meanwhile, Yaghoubi's brother Jahangir mourned his demise. "He was trying to retire. He says ‘I gotta take on projects before I retire.’ He took care of hazardous waste, fixing freeways, and tried to save the public every penny he could," Jahangir told NBC Los Angeles.