Man accused of killing 75-year-old father near Porterville

PORTERVILLE, Calif. (KFSN) -- Authorities have arrested a man for murder, after he was found with his father's body inside an SUV near Porterville.

Deputies made the disturbing discovery on Thursday morning after two families who live on private property called to report a man acting erratically. They said he drove up and then approached their homes asking for gas money.

The Tulare County Sheriff's Office identified the suspect as 32-year-old Giovani Abujalil of Bakersfield.

Deputies found Abujalil in his SUV and spotted a body in the back seat. When they told him to get out of the vehicle, they say he refused.

The deputies were eventually able to de-escalate the situation and take Abujali into custody.

They later confirmed the victim in the back seat was his father, 75-year-old Julio Abujali.

Detectives served a search warrant at the home where the two lived together and found evidence linking the suspect to his father's death.

Officials say Abujali was just released from prison about a week ago. He was released on supervised probation for his conviction for elder abuse in 2019.

He has been booked into the Tulare County Jail on homicide charges.