The younger brother of the Orcutt triple-homicide suspect has been arrested for allegedly injuring a family member in an assault prior to the killings, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.
Brian McNabb, 40, of Santa Maria was taken into custody on Sunday on suspicion of battery with serious bodily injury, and remains in custody with bail set at $50,000, according to Kelly Hoover, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Department.
His arrest came days after his brother, David Gerald McNabb, 43, allegedly killed their mother, Melanie McNabb, 64, their sister, Nicole McNabb, 34, and Melanie’s friend, Carlos Echavarria, 63.
David McNabb, who was fatally shot by law enforcement Friday night, and the victims all lived together in an Orcutt home, Hoover said.
On Monday, the Sheriff’s Department released a few more details about the triple homicide at an Oakhill Country Estates home at the southern end of Orcutt, and confirmed Brian McNabb’s arrest for assaulting a family member at his Santa Maria residence.
It is unclear if the assault is at all related to the three slayings.
Authorities said the incident occurred recently, but did not specify when, or the identify of the family member who was attacked, other than to say the person did not live at the Orcutt home.
Brian McNabb is scheduled to be arraigned in Santa Barbara County Superior Court on Wednesday, according to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office. A decision on the charges he faces was pending Monday.
On Friday night, sheriff’s deputies discovered the scene of a triple-homicide on the 5900 block of Oakhill Drive, in the gated Oakhill Country Estates.
“The motive for this brutal act of violence is still under investigation and has not been determined,” Hoover said. “All three victims lived at the residence and were brutally beaten and stabbed. Autopsies are pending, but there is no preliminary evidence to indicate that any of the victims were shot. “
Shortly after 8 p.m. Friday, deputies were called to the residence by a friend of Nicole McNabb, Hoover said. The Sheriff’s Department did not identify the woman who alerted authorities.
The friend said Nicole McNabb was covered with blood in the bathtub, and fled the home to call for help, Hoover said.
Deputies arrived to find the apparent killer, David Gerald McNabb, armed with a rifle in the home.
“After McNabb was shot by deputies with less-lethal munitions, he remained armed and a threat to deputies,” Hoover said.
Two deputies deployed less-lethal rounds, and four deputies shot at McNabb, she said Monday.
His autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.
Hoover also confirmed that David McNabb’s 2014 domestic violence conviction in Ventura County meant he could not legally own or possess a firearm.
“Detectives are in the process of trying to determine the ownership of the rifle that he was armed with when confronted by deputies,” Hoover said.
David McNabb does not appear to have any other criminal history, Hoover said.
He previously worked as a custody deputy at the Santa Barbara County Jail from July 2001 to March 2012, when he voluntarily resigned. Six months later, he was arrested by Oxnard police on domestic-violence charges.
The homicides occurred six months after the family patriarch, David Lynn McNabb, 63, died June 4 due to pulmonary fibrosis that led to a 2015 double lung transplant followed by his body rejecting the organs.
He had started his own construction company in 1978, and worked for at least three decades in the oil fields, according to his obituary.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.