Slaying suspect enters plea of not guilty

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

A 24-year-old Santa Barbara man who allegedly stabbed and killed a woman early Thursday morning entered a plea of not guilty in Superior Court yesterday during his arraignment.
Garren Musser, who police officials said is responsible for stabbing 29-year-old Lisa Marie Zazueta in the neck, pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder coupled with a special allegation of assault with a deadly weapon, Senior Deputy District Attorney Gordon Auchincloss said.

Zazueta was a married mother of two and Santa Barbara resident who had recently started seeing Musser, police said. Family members insisted the two had not been dating, but that Zazueta had met Musser a few weeks ago and had seen him on several occasions since.
Police discovered Zazueta’s body, with a single stab wound to the neck, in the 1300 block of Kowalski Avenue at approximately 12:30 a.m. on Thursday after receiving reports of a body in the roadway, authorities said.
Detectives questioned Musser, who reportedly lived at a nearby home with his parents. During an interview at the police station, he allegedly took responsibility for the slaying, police said. Detectives also recovered a knife suspected of being the murder weapon.
Auchincloss said Musser is being represented by a public defender. A preliminary hearing has been set for late November in the courtroom of Judge Rick Brown.