Man Faces Trial in Slaying of Woman

A 25-year-old Oxnard man has been ordered to stand trial on a murder charge for allegedly stabbing a 41-year-old mother of four to death in late April.

Cruz Belman Alcantar was being held on a charge of murder with use of a deadly weapon after a daylong preliminary hearing in Ventura County Superior Court this week.

According to authorities, Alcantar met Anna Mendez Ramirez, an Oxnard homemaker who cared for her children and grandchildren, at an Oxnard bar on April 23.

The pair were seen leaving together, and at about 5 a.m. the next day Ramirez’s body was found on a sidewalk on Colonia Road.

Her throat had been slashed and there were three stab wounds to her chest, neck and abdomen, Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Patricia Murphy said. A knife was found near her body.

Oxnard detectives, tipped to the make and model of Alcantar’s vehicle, arrested him a day after the killing as he was walking near his home, a few blocks from where Ramirez’s body was found.

According to prosecutors, Alcantar has two prior felony convictions, including one for sexual abuse of a child under age 14, and he faces a third strike if convicted in the murder case. As a result, he could be sentenced to 75 years to life in prison.

A second arraignment date is scheduled for Sept. 27. Alcantar remains held without bail because of an alleged parole violation.