A preliminary hearing was delayed Monday for a 30-year-old Long Beach man accused of slashing his girlfriend's 7-year-old son to death last month.
Peniamina Tomasi is charged with murder and attempted murder for the Jan. 8 attack that killed 7-year-old Felix Sandoval and that left Sandoval's mother with multiple slash wounds.
Tomasi's preliminary hearing was originally scheduled for last week and has been reset twice. It is now scheduled for Feb. 11 in Dept. 3 of the Long Beach Superior Court.
The defendant was arrested late on Jan. 8 after Long Beach police responded to the apartment complex in the 500 block of East Pleasant Street following reports of an injured woman screaming, "He's killing my son."
The bleeding and near-hysterical woman directed police to a man standing in the doorway of a nearby apartment, but the man closed the door and locked it before officers could come inside.
Officers forced their way in and found Tomasi and the 7-year-old boy, who had been stabbed repeatedly. The child was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at a local emergency room, police said.
The scene was so disturbing for rescue crews and police officers who handled the call that counseling sessions have been offered for both groups, authorities said.
Counselors were also sent to Felix's school, Dooley Elementary, to talk to classmates affected by the boy's slaying.
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