Prostitute accused of killing yacht-owning client with heroin

Police say Alix Catherine Tichleman, 26, killed a 51-year-old man by administering a lethal dose of heroin on his yacht in Santa Cruz, Calif., in November 2013. Tichleman was arrested July 4, 2014. Police say Alix Catherine Tichleman, 26, killed a 51-year-old man by administering a lethal dose of heroin on his yacht in Santa Cruz, Calif., in November 2013. Tichleman was arrested July 4, 2014. Photo: Courtesy, Santa Cruz Police Department Photo: Courtesy, Santa Cruz Police Department Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Prostitute accused of killing yacht-owning client with heroin 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

(07-08) 19:48 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Police arrested a prostitute on homicide charges Friday after they say she administered a lethal dose of heroin to a client and left him to die on a yacht in Santa Cruz last year.

On Nov. 23, police were called to investigate the suspicious death of an unidentified 51-year-old man on a sailboat in the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor.

Alix Catherine Tichleman, 26, of Folsom was identified as a suspect after police learned she had a pay-for-sex relationship with the victim, police said.

During interviews with police, Tichleman boasted of having more than 200 clients, all of whom she said she met through a website, SeekingArrangement.com, according to police.

After obtaining e-mails and text messages between Tichleman and her clients, including the victim, police learned she had met with the man the night he died and provided him with heroin, police said.

Detectives obtained surveillance footage from the victim's yacht, which showed the victim overdosing and going unconscious after he was injected by Tichleman, police said.

Rather than call police, investigators say Tichleman gathered her belongings, including drugs and paraphernalia - at one point stepping over the victim's body to finish a glass of wine - before leaving the boat and lowering the blinds to conceal the body, police said.

The victim died from the heroin Tichleman injected him with, according to police.

Detectives placed her under surveillance and learned of another case with similar circumstances connected to Tichleman in another state.

Fearing she might attempt to flee, an officer posed as a client and persuaded Tichleman to meet him at an upscale Santa Cruz location.

When she showed up she was arrested.

Tichleman was being held in the Santa Cruz County Jail on suspicion of second-degree murder, destruction of evidence and transporting and providing narcotics.