One-legged California man who allegedly stabbed massage parlor worker 56 times was arrested outside another massage parlor

Utah police say that a one-legged man stabbed a massage parlor worker 56 times and was arrested outside of another massage parlor in California.

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sam Gill said in a media briefing that the investigation into the murder of 45-year-old Yuping Jiao led to the arrest of 39-year-old Steven Chance Brinkerhoff, who lives in Redondo Beach.

Jiao was found stabbed to death at the A+ Massage in Midvale on Jan. 4. by her brother. A medical examiner later said that she had been stabbed 56 times.

Charging documents said that police used surveillance video from a business near the massage parlor and found that a man in a wheelchair with one leg arrived at the business at 12:30 p.m. and left at 2:25 p.m.

Gill said that investigators gathered DNA evidence from blood that was found on Jiao's body and entered it into a national database. That sample was matched to Brinkerhoff, who matched the description of the suspect because he is missing a leg.

Investigators obtained text messages showing the victim and Brinkerhoff had communicated with each other before her death.

Brinkerhoff was arrested on Jan. 19 outside of another massage parlor in California. He will be charged with one count of first-degree felony murder after he is extradited to Utah.

Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said the brutal crime was "very traumatic for everybody involved."

Brinkerhoff has a long criminal history previous to the murder charge that includes assault on a police officer, possession of a dangerous weapon, fighting in public, drugs, and violation of a protective order to prevent domestic violence.

“These type of cases take a toll on our community," Rivera added. "And we wanted to make sure that we did this press conference today to let the community know that there is someone in custody in this case, just to bring them a little bit of relief.”

Jiao was an immigrant from China.

Here's a news report about the charges:

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