Teen Accused of Killing Mother Who Escaped from O.C. Juvenile Hall Recaptured

A 15-year-old boy who escaped from an Orange County juvenile hall while awaiting trial in the fatal stabbing of his mother was recaptured Friday night, authorities said. Ike Souzer fled the facility — located at 331 The City Dr. S in Orange — at approximately 12:11 a.m., according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, which is assisting probation officers in the search for the escaped teen. Authorities on Friday afternoon released surveillance video showing a 15-year-old boy after he escaped from Orange County Juvenile Hall overnight amid the search for the teen, who stands accused of killing his mother. Souzer managed to escape from single-story unit where he was housed, somehow ending up outside the locked room where he had been in at one point, said Orange County Chief Probation Officer Steve Sentman. “He had gained access to outside of the housing unit, then gained access to a roof,” Sentman said. “Juvenile Hall staff did see him on the roof and immediately began security protocol.” The teen then climbed over a fence and left the facility. Some of the escape can be seen in surveillance video that was released by the Sheriff’s Department following a mid-afternoon news conference amid the intense search. Sentman noted this was the first escape from the facility that he was aware of in the past two decades. Sheriff’s officials announced that the suspect was back in custody shortly after 9:30 p.m. He was found at a McDonald’s in Anaheim, about six miles away from the juvenile hall, and taken into custody without a struggle, officials said. Souzer was arrested after allegedly stabbing his mother to death in Garden Grove back on May 4, 2017, Garden Grove Police Department Lt. Carl Whitney confirmed to KTLA on Friday. Barbara Scheuer-Souzer, 47, was found by a neighbor covered in blood outside her home in the 11000 block of Gilbert Street, police said at the time. She had been stabbed multiple times in the stomach. Before she died, Scheuer-Souzer had identified her son — then 13 — as the attacker, according to investigators. Police did not identify the boy at the time due to his age. On Friday, personnel from multiple agencies were out looking for the teen, who is believed to have connections in Orange and Riverside counties, according to sheriff’s Capt. Mike Peters. “At this point, there’s no evidence that he’s been helped,” Peters said. “In fact, the contacts with his family are being very cooperative.” There is no evidence the teen is armed with any type of weapon, according to authorities. “With any escaped individual, regardless of their charges, are going to be considered dangerous,” Peters said. “That being said, his crime — what he’s accused of — those could be considered, obviously, dangerous crimes. But we have no reason to believe at the moment that he is threatening or dangerous in any way.” “We do have a video of him at the time, and that is why we know that there is a possibility that he has an injured leg,” Peters said. “At the time he is – what appears to be tending to some problem with his left leg.”