Police say that a woman who was stabbed by an estranged boyfriend as cops sat in an unmarked car outside her apartment was warned to go to to a domestic violence shelter for her own safety.

The victim, identified as 30-year-old Flor Medrano, insisted that she be allowed to return home Wednesday night after spending “several hours” at the Los Angeles Police Department's Wilshire Division station on Venice Boulevard, police said.

” … Officers offered to help Medrano secure a place at a domestic violence shelter or to drive her to a another location of her choice,” reads an LAPD statement. “Ultimately Medrano decided that she wanted to return home. She explained to the officers that the suspect did not have a key to her residence and that her child, from a previous relationship, was being cared for elsewhere.”

The horror began on Tuesday when, the victim told police, her estranged boyfriend attacked her and threatened her. About 5 p.m. Wednesday, police say, Medrano flagged down Wilshire Division cops on patrol in Mid-City to report that the suspect, who has not been identified, was sending her threatening text messages.

Medrano was taken to the station while LAPD officers contacted Inglewood police to see if they could track the man down at his home, but a door knock found that he was not home. She showed cops a fresh text message that they say indicated the man might have been at her Mid-City apartment. Officers went to the home in the 1300 block of South Cochran Avenue but did not find him.

At 10:45 p.m., at Medrano's behest, the victim was allowed to go home. Officers in an unmarked car followed her and watched as she got in her apartment. The cops had a clear view of the apartment's front door and sat outside in the car to see if the suspect might show up, police say.

While it was originally reported that a passerby flagged down the cops to report the woman was being stabbed, police say that the cops who had been watching the apartment were alerted something had god awry when they phoned Medrano about 11:25 p.m. Wednesday to make sure she was safe and to tell her they were about to leave.

“The cell phone call was interrupted,” states the LAPD. “Several attempts were made to reestablish the connection. When the connection was finally reestablished the officers heard screaming.”

They ran up to the second floor apartment, spotted the suspect stabbing the woman, burst in, and shot the man, reportedly through a window. Police said the suspect gained access to her apartment by climbing on the building's roof then crawling into a small, rear bathroom window.

The suspect and the victim were both declared dead after being taken to paramedics to an area hospital, police said.

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