Police: Suspect in Pomona stabbing mistakenly believed victim had relationship with her boyfriend

POMONA -- Robin Ridgeway sat among a small group of patients and a counselor during an outdoor afternoon meeting at the Hamilton Villa mental health facility last week.

Nicole Ann Stewart approached the group armed with a knife, and without speaking she stabbed Ridgeway, 49, in the upper torso, killing her, said Pomona police Sgt. Matt Stone.

"(Stewart) apparently thought there was some type of relationship between the victim and (Stewart's) boyfriend, which was not true," Stone said in an interview this morning. "(Police) ended up interviewing witnesses, and there was no relationship."

What remains unclear, Stone said, is how Stewart, 33, obtained the knife, which was described by witnesses of the July 23 incident as a kitchen-style knife.

"Staff members said that the knife did not look familiar," Stone said.

Residents of the mental health facility are able to leave the facility, Stone said. The sergeant said he was unsure how the outings are supervised

Management at Hamilton Villa, located at 948 S. Hamilton Blvd. in Pomona, has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

Stewart has been charged with murder, and remained jailed this afternoon in lieu of $1 million bail. She is next due in Pomona Superior Court Aug. 12 for an arraignment hearing.

Stone said police have no information indicating that Stewart and Ridgeway argued in the past over Stewart's boyfriend, a resident of Hamilton Villa, or had any type of discussion about him.

Ridgeway had lived at the facility for several years, Stone said, while Stewart was a relatively new arrival.

"(Ridgeway's) family members are really distraught, and they really don't want any contact," Stone said.

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