Police arrest man in murder of mother, 2 sons

A man taken into custody at the end of a vehicle chase through South Orange County was placed under arrest today on suspicion of murdering his former live-in girlfriend and their two young sons.

Shazer Fernando Limas, 31, was arrested by California Highway Patrol officers on Interstate 5 south of the San Onofre weigh station in San Diego County around 7:45 p.m. Thursday, said Orange police Sgt. Dan Adams.

Police began looking for Limas and the missing woman, 31-year-old Arlet Hernandez, and her children after finding blood at noon Thursday along with
other evidence of an altercation in a vacant apartment they had shared at 3063
W. Chapman Avenue, he said.

“Mr. Limas was interviewed at the Orange Police Department and based on the totality of our investigation, he was arrested for murder and will be booked at the Orange County Jail,” Adams said. “Our evidence is strong enough to book him for murder. We’re confident this is our suspect.”

The evidence against Limas includes statements he made during the police interviews, he said.

The bodies of the suspected victims have not been found, Adams said. He said investigators were searching for the bodies outside of Orange County.

Police believe the suspected victims were killed in the last few days.

A of this morning, Limas had not retained an attorney, Adams said.

Limas lived with Hernandez and her 2-year-old and 4-month-old children in the apartment on Chapman before moving out on April 28, Adams said. The evidence found in the apartment prompted someone at the complex to call police, Adams said.

Late Thursday afternoon, police received information that Limas was in the Santa Ana-Costa Mesa area and located him in a parking lot near John Wayne Airport, according to Adams.

Costa Mesa and Santa Ana police tried to pull over his Nissan 350Z, but he fled, driving first on surface streets, then onto the southbound San Diego (405) Freeway and southbound Interstate 5, he said. Limas drove at speeds up to 90 mph.

The CHP became involved around Lake Forest at 6:35 p.m., said CHP Officer Gabe Montoya.

The sports car ran over a spike strip around San Juan Capistrano after the CHP closed down the freeway in both directions, Montoya said. The chase ended just across the county line, a CHP dispatcher said.

Limas, wearing a suit, sat in his car for an hour before getting out and being placed under arrest on suspicion of felony evading.