A man and woman from South Los Angeles have been arrested for stabbing a woman to death in front of her children over a parking space at a swap meet, authorities said.

Reggie Cervantes, 22, and Brenda Rangel, 19, have been charged with murder in the death of 43-year-old Elizabeth Yanez in Santa Fe Springs and are being held in lieu of $1-million bail, according to an announcement Thursday from the Whittier Police Department, which patrols both cities.

The dispute over the parking spot erupted about 9:30 p.m. Oct. 17 in the 13900 block of Alondra Boulevard and quickly escalated, with Yanez stabbed multiple times in her neck and back, police said.

She was rushed to UC Irvine Medical Center, where she died.


Yanez’s son, Daniel Crable, told KTLA the family at one point offered up the parking spot, but the dispute “went from one to 10 in a matter of seconds.”

After obtaining “crucial evidence” at the scene, detectives were able to track down Rangel and Cervantes and their vehicle to a South Los Angeles neighborhood, according to police.

Rangel and Cervantes were arrested the following morning.

For breaking news in California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA. She can be reached at veronica.rocha@latimes.com.