Double-murder suspect found asleep in Monterey County

May 11, 2016

A double-murder suspect who fled police through San Luis Obispo County was arrested Wednesday in the Monterey County city of Seaside after a homeless person tipped off officers to his whereabouts. The suspect is accused of stabbing to death his estranged wife and her mother.

Shortly before 4 a.m. Saturday, Clovis police responded to reports of a stabbing and found the bodies of 68-year-old Judith Cooper, of Paso Robles, and her 36-year-old daughter, Tierney Cooper-McCann, of Clovis. A witness identified the suspect as Dave McCann.

McCann is a 49-year-old United Kingdom citizen with a strong British accent, according to the Clovis Police Department. Prior to the stabbings, McCann allegedly kicked in the door of his estranged wife’s home.

The suspect was last seen in Clovis driving a 16-foot white Penske moving truck.

At about 5 p.m. on Saturday, a citizen who had read about the murders on Facebook called police to report a Penske moving truck that was parked in a Paso Robles neighborhood. Officers determined the truck was the vehicle that McCann had been driving.

In the same Paso Robles neighborhood, McCann broke into the home of one of the victim’s relatives. He stole a bicycle from the home and fled on the bike.

On Monday afternoon, McCann was spotted in Ragged Point. He was also reportedly seen walking in Cambria.

Late Tuesday night, Clovis police received a tip that McCann had been transported from the Big Sur area to the Seaside area. Clovis detectives and local officers then began searching homeless encampments.

Early Wednesday morning, a homeless person led officers to the location where McCann was sleeping. The spot was off the beaten path, up a bicycle trail and behind a fence, Clovis Police Chief Matt Basgall said at a press conference hours later.

Officers arrested McCann at 1:30 a.m. and transported him back to Clovis. Basgall thanked the media for helping spread information about the suspect, as well as the San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles police departments for providing officers, detectives and SWAT teams.