Fatal Stabbing At Lake Elsinore Walmart Store Was 'Random': RSO

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — A fatal stabbing Monday morning at the Lake Elsinore Walmart store was unprovoked and it appears the victim did not know her attacker, authorities announced.

Walmart employee Jessica Morales, 65, of Menifee suffered multiple stab wounds around 7 a.m. Monday before she was pronounced dead at the Supercenter located at 29260 Central Avenue. The killing occurred approximately one hour after the store's regular 6 a.m. opening.

The man who attacked her was identified by the sheriff's department as 29-year-old Lonnie Will Hinton III of Wildomar. Jail records show he is being held without bail at Southwest Detention Center on suspicion of first-degree murder.

According to the department, witnesses provided a description of Hinton. He later turned himself in at the Lake Elsinore Sheriff's Station.

Morales and Hinton were not acquainted with each other.

"This appears to be a random event, and there was no interaction between the suspect and the victim prior to the assault," the sheriff's department said.

No other injuries were reported.

Hinton was released from state prison earlier this year following a robbery conviction and was on active parole at the time of this incident, the sheriff's department reported.

The conviction stems from a November 2020 investigation into a stabbing at a Perris restauran. Hinton, then 25 years old and identified as a Perris resident, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury, but the count was dismissed against him. He was instead convicted of one count each of felony robbery and misdemeanor petty theft in the case.

The stabbing victim was hospitalized and was expected to survive his injuries, the sheriff's department announced following the incident.

Court records show Hinton has had other run-ins with the law in Riverside County, including a felony conviction of one count of burglary. He also has another misdemeanor petty theft conviction.

The Walmart stabbing case remains under investigation. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Lake Elsinore Sheriff's Station at 951-245-3300.