Lynn Areno

Lynn Areno, a 72-year-old woman from Goleta, was found dead on the evening of September 28, 2025, after deputies responded to a welfare check at an apartment on the 5500 block of Armitos Avenue around 7:33 p.m. Responding Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputies discovered her body inside the residence in Old Town Goleta. Early local reporting indicated she had suffered an apparent gunshot wound.

At the scene, deputies detained her son, 32-year-old Christopher Vanvalck, and later booked ...

Crime Voice: Matricide Arrest

Goleta Homicide Investigation Leads to Arrest of Victim's Son