More than a decade after a father was brutally stabbed to death just steps away from an elementary school, police say they’ve finally made an arrest in the chilling cold case.
Jose Jimenez, 32, was taken into custody on April 2 and charged with murder in connection with the 2014 killing of 55-year-old Labh Nigah. The attack unfolded in broad daylight near Sierra Linda Elementary School in Oxnard, California — and shockingly, it happened in full view of teachers, staff, and young students.
Authorities say Nigah had just walked his son to school and was continuing his usual morning routine, walking laps in a nearby park, when he was suddenly ambushed.
Prosecutors describe the attack as completely random.
“This was an ambush and a brutal crime committed in broad daylight against a completely unsuspecting victim,” Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said.
According to investigators, Jimenez allegedly stabbed Nigah multiple times around 8:40 a.m., right as school was in session. Witnesses included people in the park — and even grade-school children who saw the horrifying scene unfold from the schoolyard.
Police say there is no evidence the suspect and victim knew each other.
“By all accounts, they were total strangers,” Nasarenko said. “This was a random, unprovoked and brutal murder.”
The case went unsolved for more than 11 years, leaving Nigah’s family searching for answers. Over time, they had begun to accept the painful reality that they might never know who was responsible.
But everything changed this week.
Officials say advances in forensic technology and relentless investigative work led to Jimenez’s arrest, bringing a long-awaited breakthrough in the case.
For Nigah’s family, the news is both emotional and overwhelming.
His daughter, Harleen Kaur, said that after years without answers, the family had started to find a painful kind of closure in the unknown. Now, finally having a name connected to the crime feels surreal.
Nigah was a husband and father of three who immigrated to the United States from India. Loved ones describe him as a hardworking provider who was deeply committed to his children’s future and education.
Now, more than a decade later, the man accused of taking his life is behind bars.
Jimenez is being held on $1 million bail and faces a murder charge along with additional allegations tied to the violent nature of the attack. His next court appearance is scheduled for April 28.