A 73-year-old grandmother in California lost her life in what investigators are calling a completely random act of violence, and the details behind it are chilling.
Tyler Leibelt, 19, was taken into custody on July 21 after being connected to the fatal stabbing of Rachell Summers, according to the Capitola Police Department. Officers say Summers was attacked the day before while walking near the Capitola Mall, where she had gone to collect her paycheck before heading to a nearby bank.
Court documents reveal that Leibelt had been thinking about killing someone for some time before that day. He reportedly told police the idea first crossed his mind while sitting in a college cafeteria at Cabrillo College. Before taking a bus to the mall, he stopped at a sporting goods store and bought two knives, saying he wanted one for each hand.
Investigators say Leibelt scouted several potential targets but avoided ones that felt too exposed to witnesses. When he spotted Summers on the sidewalk, he ran toward her and stabbed her from behind. Police say she cried out for help before he stabbed her a total of eleven times. He then reportedly walked to a nearby gas station, still covered in blood, bought a drink, and later called police himself to confess.
Authorities noted this wasn’t the first warning sign. Months earlier, in November 2025, a judge had issued an emergency restraining order against Leibelt after deputies said he had expressed intent to carry out a mass casualty event.
Summers, who managed a nonprofit art store supporting local artists, had recently become a grandmother. Family and friends started a fundraiser describing the bright future she had hoped for her grandchild’s education.
Leibelt now faces a first-degree murder charge and remains held without bail. His next court appearance is set for July 29.