Authorities in Ventura County have arrested Jose Jimenez, 32, and charged him with the 2014 murder of Labh Nigah, a 55-year-old father stabbed to death in broad daylight near his son's elementary school. The attack occurred in Sierra Linda Park across from Sierra Linda Elementary School, witnessed by students and staff. Prosecutors described the incident as a random and unprovoked ambush after more than 11 years unsolved.
Labh Nigah had just dropped his son off at Sierra Linda Elementary School in Oxnard and was walking laps in the adjacent Sierra Linda Park when Jose Jimenez attacked him around 8:40 a.m. in 2014. Jimenez allegedly stabbed Nigah multiple times, leaving him dead in front of witnesses including grade-school students in the schoolyard, teachers, and park visitors. Officials emphasized that Nigah and Jimenez were strangers, with no prior connection discovered after extensive investigation aided by forensic advancements. Nigah, a husband and father of three who immigrated from India, worked as a clerk at a local convenience store and routinely walked the path each weekday to prioritize his children's education, his family said. Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko called the slaying an 'ambush and a brutal crime committed in broad daylight against a completely unsuspecting victim.' He noted the arrest as 'an important step toward accountability,' crediting law enforcement partners and advancing forensic technology. Oxnard Police Chief Jason Benites described it as a 'truly heinous crime' occurring next to an elementary school in session. Jimenez faces one count of murder plus special allegations for knife use, great violence, and targeting a particularly vulnerable victim. Prosecutors secured $1 million bail, with his next court date set for April 28 in Ventura County Superior Court. Nigah's daughter Harleen Kaur told reporters that learning the suspect's name after 11 years brought a mix of relief and renewed closure, ending years of uncertainty.
