Deputies say man stabbed his wife to death in northwest Bakersfield

Last Update: 7/14 8:46 pm

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We are learning more about the Bakersfield man homicide detectives say stabbed his wife to death. Court records show Louis Ayala has a criminal past and his wife had filed numerous restraining orders against him. As detectives and emergency workers flooded their apartment complex, neighbors say 44-year-old Annette Ayala's daughters stood outside crying and screaming. The family is distraught and outraged over the death of their mother. “I parked and got out of the car and heard some sort of screaming on the phone telling the police that someone stabbed her mom,” neighbor Kevin Haney said. Neighbor Miguel Munoz heard similar cries. “The daughter, I guess, she came running downstairs screaming he killed my mom, he killed my mom,” Munoz said. Josephine Montez lives right across from where detectives say Louis Ayala killed his wife. Montez tells me one of the woman's daughters knocked on her door at around 8pm Monday night. “They started banging on my door. And I grabbed my phone and I came to the door. She was screaming, ‘He's stabbed her. He is stabbing her.’ And I go, What? And she said, ‘My mother, he killed my mother’,” she said. Montez let the daughter borrow her phone to call 911, but she says what happened next was the most shocking. “We are standing here the door was open and I said why is the door open, let’s close it. I was just about to close it, when he comes out. And man I just slammed the door and locked it because I didn’t know what he was gonna do,” Montez explained. Then Montez says she watched from her window as deputies drew their weapons and arrested Ayala. “He was always such a nice guy. People always say he was always a nice guy well he was. Very helpfully he would help me carry groceries up the stairs if I had to, very polite,” she said. But court records paint another picture. Documents show Louis Ayala served 16 years behind bars for first degree robbery and was on parole until three years ago. Court records also show Annette Ayala had filed several restraining orders against her husband in the past two years. One of them reads " Louis Ayala, who is Annette Ayala's husband, suffocated her two times. Annette was able to get away. Annette is in fear Louis will come back and harm her again." But neighbors tell us the couple moved in to the apartment together about one year ago. Neighbors say while they had heard the couple screaming and fighting, they never expected this. If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence... you can get help. You can call the Alliance Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault. They have 24-hour hotline: 327-1091. You can also call toll free: 1-800-273-7713.