The man who was found guilty of stabbing and killing a 67-year-old woman on a Metro train in Studio City in 2024 has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The sentencing came down Friday after Elliot Tramal Nowden, 47, was convicted last month of using knives to kill Mirna Soza Arauz while trying to rob her aboard the train. Police said the stabbing occurred during the early morning hours as the train, which was headed toward downtown LA, arrived at the Universal/Studio City Station on Lankershim Boulevard near Universal Studios Hollywood.
Private security officers working for Metro provided aid to Soza Arauz at the subway station while waiting for paramedics, who transported her to a hospital where she died, the LAPD said in a statement.
In addition to the life sentence, a judge imposed an additional eight years behind bars for the robbery charge.
NBC4 Investigates previously reported that Nowden had been imprisoned for assault for a similar crime: The now-convicted murder also was found guilty of attacking a train passenger in 2019 while he was on probation.
Jail records and law enforcement officials confirmed Nowden was arrested several times before the stabbing death of Arauz.
The victim’s son, Jose Roman Soza, told the judge through a Spanish interpreter that “It was very painful to realize that she was murdered for the things she would give away.” He called her his best friend and said he
realized something was wrong when she didn’t return home that morning to cook breakfast for him before he left for work for the day.
“When she didn’t arrive that morning, I felt something on my chest,” he said, telling the judge that he knew something was wrong and called his sisters.
He said that he subsequently received a call from a detective and that he watches detective shows and “knew that this was something horrible and that (it) was going to be the most horrible day of my life.”
“… I hope that justice falls on this monster and he never sees the sun any more,” the victim’s son said.
The victim’s youngest daughter, Nadia Cisne Soza, also called her mother her best friend.
“As long as my mother is happy in heaven, the murderer is going to be miserable on earth,” she said, asking the judge to “put all the weight of justice on him.”
Another of the victim’s daughters, Mirna Roman Soza, said during a conference call with a Spanish interpreter that the family has had to live with her absence in their lives but that they remember her every day.
Speaking directly to the defendant, she said he “took of the life of a person you didn’t need to steal anything from” and she “would have given you anything.”
After the court hearing, defense attorney K.C. Ma told the victim’s family that his client wanted them to know that he was sorry for their loss.
Want more insights? Join Working Title - our career elevating newsletter and get the future of work delivered weekly.
