Woman's bloody crime spree began with stabbing of SJ reporter, authorities say

Sydney Megan Whalen, 24, has been accused of stabbing a San Jose Mercury reporter and, 10 days later, murdering a Hayward man. (Santa Cruz Co. Sheriff’s Office) Sydney Megan Whalen, 24, has been accused of stabbing a San Jose Mercury reporter and, 10 days later, murdering a Hayward man. (Santa Cruz Co. Sheriff’s Office) Photo: Santa Cruz Co. Sheriff’s Office Photo: Santa Cruz Co. Sheriff’s Office Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Woman's bloody crime spree began with stabbing of SJ reporter, authorities say 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A woman accused of murdering a man in a Hayward motel in July 2017 has been linked through DNA evidence to the stabbing of a San Jose Mercury News reporter, according to court records cited by a Bay Area News Group report.

Police say Sydney Megan Whalen, 24, stabbed the newspaper's hockey beat writer, Paul Gackle, several times in the abdomen and throat during an attempted robbery July 21, 2017, in the 800 block of Redbird Drive in Willow Glen. Gackle suffered severe injuries.

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Ten days later, authorities said, Whalen bludgeoned the head and face of 44-year-old Daniel Torrez, killing the father of four at a Motel 6 in Hayward.

Alameda County court records allege she then left the scene in Torrez's Volkswagen Jetta before traveling to Santa Cruz.

But the violent spree did not end there. Just the next day, she was arrested for allegedly attacking a person with a hammer in another robbery. In her possession, according to court records, police found a wallet with Torrez's identification and a bloody towel.

The Jetta, with Torrez's cell phone inside, was reportedly discovered abandoned in San Jose a week later.

The Bay Area News Group reported that it took months to formally tie physical evidence at the Hayward murder scene and Willow Glen stabbing to Whalen via DNA samples. In addition to DNA evidence, Whalen's fingerprints were extracted from an ice bucket and a toilet seat in the Hayward motel room, according to court records.

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Among the crimes Whalen has been charged with in the spree are felony murder during the course of a robbery, first-degree robbery and assault with a deadly weapon (carrying an enhancement for great bodily injury and use of a deadly weapon). She also is charged with attempted murder in the Gackle stabbing.