Detailed Description Given of Suspect in Writer’s Death

Police on Saturday released a detailed description of a Latino man being sought in connection with the stabbing death of a newspaper reporter who came to his wife’s rescue during an attempted rape by an intruder inside the couple’s El Cajon apartment.

The assailant was identified as having a chunky build and being 6-foot to 6-foot-2 inches tall and weighing more than 200 pounds. He has thick, black collar-length hair parted on the left. He was clean-shaven, and wore a dark-blue work uniform shirt and pants and black shoes.

His vehicle was described as a 1973 or 1974 faded gold Lincoln Continental with a split rear bumper and a left front fender that was a different color of gold.

Police said Steve Petix, a 31-year old reporter for The Californian, was stabbed in the chest Friday afternoon.

His wife, Vickie, 23, told police that a man posing as a repairman came to her apartment and that when she let him in, he pulled out a knife and attempted to rape her. Police said Steve Petix came home for lunch and began pulling the man off his wife. She escaped and ran to another apartment to summon police.

Officer Fenton Sue said that when police arrived, they found the victim suffering a stab wound to the chest and lying unconscious on the living room floor.

Paramedics attempted to revive him, but Petix was pronounced dead at the scene.