Man Stabbed, Beaten To Death With Golf Club For Attacking Estranged Girlfriend

A Los Angeles man was stabbed and beaten to death after he broke into his estranged girlfriend’s house and attacked her. The suspect was killed by his former girlfriend's mother and sister.

The man broke the front window of the house with a large concrete paver and entered the house on South Pasadena at 10 a.m. (1 p.m. ET) Saturday. The Los Angeles County coroner identified Justin Goss, 40, as the suspect Sunday, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Goss punched his ex-girlfriend in her face and was trying to strangle her when her mother and sister rescued her. The motive for the attack was unclear.

They used a kitchen knife and a golf club to stab and beat the intruder to rescue the unidentified girlfriend. The 37-year-old woman, who suffered facial injuries, was taken to the hospital and was later released following treatments.

The South Pasadena police responded to the emergency call regarding a domestic violence incident. The police arrived at the scene and found the front window of the house shattered. They also heard a woman screaming from inside, a release by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department stated.

Goss was pronounced dead at the scene. The police have not registered a case against Goss' girlfriend's mother and sister, the Los Angeles Times reported. Lt. Barry Hall, Los Angeles County sheriff, said they were well within their rights to act in defense of the woman.

“They tried to pull him off, and it didn’t work; he was too strong. So they had to resort to using weapons,” he added.

According to the legal system in the U.S., the state and the federal government allow a defendant to claim “self-defense” when accused of a violent crime. The law defines self-defense as the use of “reasonable force to protect oneself or members of the family from bodily harm from the attack of an aggressor.”

The claim of self-defense requires an unprovoked attack that threatens the imminent injury or death of a person. It also requires an objectively reasonable degree of force, used in response to an objectively reasonable fear of injury or death.