Accused Burbank slashers eerie stare in court after stabbing famed Oprah activist and killing her mom
A man appeared in court Thursday accused of murder and attempted murder during a burglary following a knife attack at the $1.4 million Burbank home of a cherished mother and her mental health activist daughter.Described as a “beautiful family,” Meera Varma, 25, who appears in pictures with Joe Biden and Oprah Winfrey, and her 59-year-old mom, Arti Varma, were stabbed at about 6am on Monday.Her “joyful” mother, a beloved second-grade teacher at Bret Harte Elementary School in the city, died from multiple stab wounds.Meera was able to call 911 despite her injuries and is described by police as being in stable condition.Sergio Meza Fraire, 30, pleaded not guilty when he appeared before Judge Kerry White in Pasadena Superior Court during a five-minute arraignment hearing while wearing the same baggy grey t-shirt and jeans shorts he was arrested in.He is facing one felony count of murder with a special circumstance of lying in wait, one felony count of attempted murder and one felony count of first-degree residential burglary.The suspect is also charged with using a deadly weapon — a knife — in the murder and attempted murder and “personally inflicted great bodily injury” to Meera.Fraire, represented by public defender Mayda Dlores-Medrano, mumbled “yes” twice when asked by the judge if he understood the proceedings.No bail was granted.Investigators are still trying to determine a motive for the attack and whether Fraire had a prior connection to the family.He was arrested by a heavily armed SWAT team a few hours after the slaying.Ring doorbell footage exclusively obtained by the California Post showed Fraire being led away in handcuffs by officers from a rented apartment on East Palm Avenue in Burbank, just two miles from the scene.Neighbors revealed he exited the ground-floor unit with his hands above his head after officers from the Burbank Police Department, with a search warrant, demanded he exit.The attack happened at the Varma family’s 1,700...