Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Orinda Police Identify Homicide Victim

The identity of an Orinda woman killed by her live-in boyfriend was released Thursday.

 

An Orinda police spokesman has identified a woman killed after an apparent argument with her live-in boyfriend as Evangeline Cumbe Devera, 56.

Responding officers found Devera, who is believed to have lived in the Moraga Way home she shared with boyfriend James Collin for the past ten years, dead on the kitchen floor when called to the residence by a neighbor Tuesday afternoon.

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Investigators said Devera suffered lethal blunt force and "sharp force" trauma to the head. A weapon believed to have been used in the killing was recovered by police.

Collin, 62, was arrested by Orinda police officers as he exited a neighbor's home and made spontaneous statements of responsibility for the killing. He surrendered without incident.

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Investigators and neighbors said the couple argued frequently and that police had responded to the residence in response to domestic violence complaints on several occasions.

Collin is being held on one count of murder at the county jail in Martinez. His bail has been set at $1 million.


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