Man arrested after strangling girlfriend, 2 young children in Riverside before threatening to kill them, put child in dryer: Police

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KTLA) -- A man was arrested more than 14 years after his then-girlfriend reported that he battered and strangled her and her two children in Riverside and threatened to kill them and put one of the children in a dryer, the Riverside Police Department said Wednesday.

The suspect, Leopoldo Martinez Garcia, severely battered and strangled the 24-year-old woman unconscious, and also battered and strangled her 1 and 4-year-old children in August 2004 at a home in the Eastside neighborhood of Riverside, police said.

Garcia refused to allow her to leave or call for help for her and the children, according to authorities.

He held up shotgun and threatened to kill her and one of the kids, and put the other in the dryer, police said.

The mother and her children escaped the next day and called police, but officers couldn't find Garcia and he was believed to have changed his identity and fled the country, Riverside Police said.