Call from family home led to arrest of murder suspect

An autopsy is underway on a young Santa Rosa mother who was stabbed repeatedly and left hidden in a closet, buried under toys in her eastside apartment.

The man suspected of killing Patricia Barrales, the father of her two young sons, is in custody in Sonoma County Jail. Honorio “Victor” Pantaleon, 30, will appear in court Wednesday to be arraigned on a charge of murder.

Details emerging Tuesday on the case indicate the couple’s two young sons may have been present when their mother was killed, family members said.

Pantaleon took the boys, their suitcases, birth certificates and family dog, to his mother’s home in Kelseyville late Saturday night, family members said.

A manhunt for Pantaleon ended late Monday night when a 911 call came in reporting he’d shown up at a relative’s home in southern Ukiah.

The 10:30 p.m. call brought several officers to the home. During the arrest, Pantaleon resisted commands by Ukiah police and a short scuffle occurred before he was taken into custody, sheriff’s Lt. Rusty Noe reported.

Pantaleon then was driven down Highway 101 to Cloverdale by a Ukiah police officer and a Mendocino deputy.

There, the man who’d made top billing on the America’s Most Wanted Web site for the day was handed over to a Santa Rosa police detective and a patrol officer, who took him back to their station for questioning.

Pantaleon now is being held without bail in Sonoma County Jail.

Mendocino County sheriff’s officials this week will file charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon against Pantaleon, said Capt. Kurt Smallcomb of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.

Those charges will be prosecuted after Sonoma County prosecutes Pantaleon on the stabbing homicide.

At 6:40 a.m. Monday, Ukiah police got a 911 call from a resident of the Thompson Avenue home of Barrales’ mother, Isabel Barrales, 45.

The caller said Pantaleon had come into the home and tried to shoot her, but when the gun misfired he hit her in the head with the gun and fled, sheriff’s officials said.

Isabel Barrales had minor injuries and was treated at her home by paramedics.

Because Pantaleon was a suspect in the Santa Rosa homcide, word that he had surfaced in Ukiah brought a flood of sheriff’s deputies, police officers, CHP officers and a CHP helicopter to the area.

His car was parked in an apartment complex parking lot across the street from an elementary school. The school kept students and staff indoors all day, and officers were on guard on campus.

Smallcomb said it is likely Pantaleon never left the area. With a helicopter patrolling overhead and police and deputies searching all day, it seemed likely the man had hunkered down, finally emerging about 10:30 p.m. Monday.

Tuesday morning, an autopsy was underway on Barrales, believed to be 25 years. Santa Rosa police said results wouldn’t be available until later Tuesday.

Detectives believe Pantaleon stabbed Patricia Barrales to death sometime Saturday.

Her body was found Sunday night, hidden in a closet in the small apartment with toys on top of her.

Her sons are being cared for by family members outside of Sonoma County.