Man in His 50s Hammered Dead Before Police Catch Suspect in Costa Mesa

UPDATE NO. 2, NOV. 3, 2:41 P.M.: The Costa Mesa Police Department has released the identity of the victim and the booking photo of the suspect.


Kyle Boyd Avila, who was in his 50s, is the deceased. “Originally he was believed to be living in Santa Ana; however, the investigation has determined he had just moved into a residence near where he was killed,” explained police Lt. Paul Beckman. He added investigators still don’t have a motive for Ivan Chernev Dimov allegedly killing Avila, whom he did not know. The victim was in the neighborhood helping his girlfriend move into a new home, his sister told TV news reporters.

UPDATE NO. 1, NOV. 2, 10:17 P.M.: The Costa Mesa Police Department has released the name of the suspect and provided more details about the murder he allegedly committed. Ivan Chernev Dimov of Costa Mesa allegedly used a tool with a hammer on one side and a hatchet on the other to attack a man sitting in his vehicle before Dimov walked away, returned to continuing the assault, pulled the victim out of the vehicle and assaulted him on the ground, according to police Lt. Paul Beckman. The unidentified victim, who resided in Santa Ana Costa Mesa, sustained “significant injuries to his face and arms,” Beckman said. “It appeared that the victim tried to defend himself from the assault.” His name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. The hammer-hatchet tool was found in the vehicle, the police spokesman said. Dimov’s booking photo is not yet being released because of the ongoing investigation, Beckman said.

ORIGINAL POST, NOV. 2, 2:57 P.M.: A man in his 50s was apparently hammered to death in Costa Mesa this morning.

Police received a call just before 8:45 a.m. that one man hit another in the head with a hammer as the victim sat in a vehicle near Vanguard Way and Danbury Lane, which is near the Costa Mesa Police Department and very close to Vanguard University.

Responders arrived to find a man lying on his back with visible injuries and another standing nearby unharmed and unarmed, according to police Lt. Paul Beckman.

As officers tried to speak with the uninjured man, he ran off, leading to a short foot chase that ended with the suspect being captured with the use of a taser gun, Beckman said.

Another cop arrived to handcuff the suspect as the first officer went back to the victim, who was dead by then, said the police spokesman, adding the presumed weapon was recovered.

The suspect was taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries, said Beckman, who added the officer who chased him was unhurt. The suspect was to be held on $1 million bail.

Neither the victim nor the suspect, described only as being in their 50s, have been identified, and police do not yet know their relationship or what led up to the attack.

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