The suspect in a triple murder in Venice in which a woman was raped and killed along with her unborn twins pleaded not guilty to capital murder with special circumstances.

The special circumstances in the case of the Dec. 8 rape and murder of 38-year-old Eun Kang at her Venice residents include murder during a rape and murder during a burglary. Boneetio Kentro Washington, 22, of Culver City pleaded not guilty to three murder counts (one each connected to the deaths of Kang and her unborn twins). He was being held without bail. He has also been charged with rape and sexual penetration.

The case shocked the liberal but gentrifying community of Venice. Neighbors of Kang in the 1600 block of Electric Avenue thought the police commotion after 10 that night had something to do with actor Elijah Wood, who they said lives nearby.

Kang's landlord, Arnold Springer, told reporters he heard and then witnessed the attack from outside her window and banged on it in an effort to get the suspect to stop — to no avail. Kang was about four months pregnant with unborn twins when she was fatally stabbed that night. She was a well-liked owner of a dry cleaning business on Wilshire Boulevard at the east end of Beverly Hills.

Police dispatched to the landlord's call spotted Washington fleeing and arrested him, according to a Los Angeles Police Department statement. When police caught up with him, the suspect was on probation for burglary.

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