Lafayette homicide victim ID’d, suspect in custody as bizarre Facebook post surfaces

In the East Bay, we are learning more about a fatal stabbing that occurred this weekend, which left a man dead. This is the first homicide in Lafayette in 20 years. A Butte County suspect is currently in custody.

“I was horrified to see the police running down the street with guns,” Christina Coleridge said.

Coleridge returned to his home on Westminster Place in Lafayette on Saturday, as police descended on the house across the street.

The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department said Christopher Jaber, 34, was killed. Christina says she knew Christopher and says he lived with her parents.

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“He was trying to chat, I knew he had mental health issues, he was the son who lived at home – he rode his bike, his parents are both doctors,” Coleridge said.

“We saw someone apprehended,” neighbor Jesse Tippett said.

Deputies arrested a 35-year-old Chico man for this crime. ABC7 Eyewitness News will not name the man until he is formally arraigned later this week. Neighbors say the suspect did not flee the scene.

“I think he went out into the street, in no hurry,” Coleridge said.

Photos taken by neighbors show the home’s backyard with police markings.

A recent bizarre Facebook post from a man with the same name as the suspect appears to target the victim. “If you need to put an end to the chaos of the supernatural, Chris Jaber, 34, aka the Eye, resides at 5 Westminster Place, Lafayette. Go with God.”

Last week, an updated article read: “Can someone please kill this man.”

“It was frightening, horrible. It seems like it should have been picked up by some technology that knows,” Coleridge added.

It is still unclear how the suspect knew the victim.

Violent crime is rare in Lafayette. Police say the last homicide here was 20 years ago.

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