LOCAL : Van Nuys Death Suspect Sought

Police are searching for a middle-aged man driving a faded green 1960 Mercury Comet who is reportedly the last person seen with a woman found slain in Van Nuys last week.

The body of Jodi Lynn Bartmess, 22, was found shortly before midnight April 1 in the parking lot of an apartment building in the 16100 block of Hart Street. Bartmess had been stabbed repeatedly.

LAPD detective Jim Vojtechy said residents of the building told of hearing the woman’s screams. She died at the scene without telling authorities anything about her assailant.

At about 8 p.m. on the night she died, Vojtechy said, a friend saw Bartmess get into the green car driven by a white man 45 to 50 years old with salt-and-pepper hair.

Originally from Port Huron, Mich., Bartmess moved to California four years ago, Vojtechy said. During the three weeks before her death, Bartmess had been living in the streets in Van Nuys, he said.