CALIFORNIA—On Friday, December 12, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office disclosed that a 47-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murdering an elderly woman aboard a Metro train last year.
A jury found Elliot Tramel Nowden guilty last month of one count of first-degree murder with the special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of a robbery. He was also found guilty of first-degree robbery and the jury found true the personal use of a deadly or dangerous weapon allegation.
On April 22, 2024, at approximately 5 a.m., Mirna Soza Arauz, 67, was on a Metro train returning home after working an overnight shift when Nowden stabbed her in the throat, killing her. He also stole her bag as the train was at the Universal City train platform.
Nowden was previously convicted of stabbing a University of Southern California student in the chest on the Expo Line in July 2019. He pleaded no contest to one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to four years in state prison. As part of the plea agreement, he was barred from riding Metro trains.
The case was investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department.
