Lynwood man charged in stabbing that killed 16-year-old at laundromat

A 21-year-old Lynwood man has been charged with murder in a stabbing that killed a 16-year-old boy outside a Long Beach Boulevard laundromat on Sept. 11, investigators said. 

William Escamilla of Lynwood was with his mother at the Free Dry Coin Laundry at 11904 Long Beach Blvd. around 4 p.m. when he walked out to the parking lot to get a bottle of water from their car, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Marcelo Quintero said. 

Prosecutors say Justin Jaimes Acosta rode up on his bicycle and stabbed William in the neck.

William’s mother saw some of the attack when she walked out into the parking lot, Quintero said. 

They tried to stem the bleeding by wrapping a T-shirt around his neck, and then she drove him to a nearby hospital, where he died, Quintero said. 

Acosta told investigators he had been using methamphetamine the day of the attack, Quintero said. 

Investigators think Acosta had had previous encounters with William in his neighborhood and attacked the teen when he spotted him alone in the parking lot.

Acosta was charged with one count of murder and pleaded not guilty. His preliminary hearing is set for Dec. 8, according to court records. 

William was a student at Marco Antonio Firebaugh High School in Lynwood. Friends have started an online funding account to help his mother and sister with expenses.