Diane Christine Alarcon, 40

Diane Christine Alarcon, a 40-year-old white woman, died on Wednesday, Jan. 11, after she was stabbed in the 6000 block of Temple City Boulevard in Temple City, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records. 

John Ralph Perales, a 45-year-old Latino from Temple City, pleaded guilty to Alarcon’s murder on Aug. 21. He also pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Alarcon’s male guest and Perales’ ex-girlfriend and her son earlier in the morning on Jan. 11, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. 

Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Matoba said the defendant went to the ex-girlfriend’s El Monte home early in the morning of Jan. 11. He crawled on top of her as she was sleeping, the prosecutor said, and then woke her up and began cutting her with a knife. 

As Perales' ex-girlfriend struggled to get away, her son came in to help her and was stabbed too, according to the prosecutor. 

Perales ran out of his ex-girlfriend’s home, and later that morning he went to Alarcon’s Temple City home. After Perales spent some time with Alarcon and her male guest, the three got into an argument, prosecutors said, and Perales struck them both in the head with a wrench. 

As Alarcon lay unconscious on the floor, Perales stabbed her in the back, the prosecutor said. According to coroner’s records, Alarcon was stabbed multiple times with a samurai sword. 

Alarcon was pronounced dead on her patio at 12:28 p.m. The cause of death was listed as a stab wound to the chest. Her friend was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for his injuries. 

Investigators later found Perales at his home and arrested him on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. 

In addition to pleading guilty to murder and attempted murder, Perales also admitted the special allegation that he used a deadly weapon in each of the crimes, and that he had previously been convicted of first-degree residential burglary in 1992. 

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 15 at the Los Angeles County Superior Court's Pomona branch.  

A fundraising account has been set up to help Alarcon's 10-year-old son. It was set up by Michelle O'Malley, the mother of the boy's best friend. 

Alarcon's son "was home at the time and witnessed his mother's death," O'Malley wrote. "There's something extraordinarily heartbreaking about this situation. I ask that you please pray and continue to pray for peace in his heart, strength in coping with his loss, and lastly, for his mother's killed to be brought to justice."

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @latimeshomicide on Twitter.