Ettima's History Of Violence

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Joseph Ettima is wanted for the murder of his 69-year-old grandmother whose home, police say, he also lit on fire.

Joseph Elija Ettima has spent virtually his entire adult life in prison, and before that, Ettima was no stranger to juvenile detention centers in California.

While in the big house, the troubled Ettima kept racking up additional time behind bars for manufacturing weapons.

Paroled in August 2008, the 25-year-old bounced from sofa to sofa, crashing at the homes of friends and family.  From time to time, Ettima would use vouchers from local homeless shelters to stay in various Los Angeles-area motels.

The one thing Ettima couldn't quell was his violent nature: police tell AMW that Ettima may look unassuming and meek at first glance, but the reality is that he is deeply unstable.

That volatility would flare up in ways that no one could have imagined on January 19, 2009.

O.C. Apartment Fire Masks A Murder

Emma Louise Hardwick-Street, 69, was the glue that held her family together and the beleaguered Ettima was at his maternal grandmother's home for a visit.

Authorities say his temper began to simmer during an argument.

Police believe Ettima flew off the handle and murdered his grandmother in a rage. However, he wasn't alone in the apartment -- Ettima's 8-year-old brother and 3-year-old niece were in the home, too.

In an attempt to cover his tracks, police say Ettima set the apartment on fire with his grandmother's remains inside. Luckily, his young relatives got out of the apartment unharmed, but by the time police and fire arrived, he was long gone.

Ettima fled with the help of a childhood friend and fellow parolee. Family members say he had less than $100 in his pocket, and cops say he could be anywhere by now.

Ettima has taught himself a number of languages, and could be using those language skills to blend in with certain communities.

Among the languages that he speaks fluently are Swahili, Spanish, and an obscure Caribbean dialect that is usually only spoken among native Caribbeans.

He even has supposedly mastered the accents of these languages, but native speakers may be able to notice a discrepancy.

Ettima identifies with native African and Caribbean cultures, and has a distinct disdain for the African-American community in the United States. He also became a Muslim in prison.

On April 14, 2009, Joseph Ettima was transported from Mexico City to Los Angeles where he was met by Los Alamitos police and the U.S. Marshals.  Cops say Ettima had been detained in Chalco, a town just outside Mexico City, after he was picked up by Mexican authorities. 

End Of The Line For Ettima

It's been months since the grisly murder of Emma Hardwick-Street, and now her family and police are happy to have the man they believe to be responsible behind bars.

Authorities say Emma's own grandson, Joseph Ettima, not only attacked and killed the 69-year-old woman, he did so in front of his 8-year-old-brother and 3-year-old niece.

He then lit their apartment on fire before getting the children out of the home and fleeing the scene.

For months, cops thought that Ettima could have been anywhere, but suspected he may be in Mexico. It turns out, they were right.

Ettima had been picked up by Mexican authorities and when he was questioned, he told them he was a native of Belize.

But Mexican authorities weren't buying Ettima's story, so they detained him in a minimum-security detention center in a town just outside Mexico City. 

While they tried to verify where Ettima was from, he stuck to his story and tried to apply for a Mexican work visa which was refused.

After several weeks in the detention facility, authorities in the U.S. received information on Ettima's whereabouts. 

On April 14, 2009, the USMS and Los Alamitos police detectives picked Ettima up from Los Angeles International Airport.  He's currently being held in Los Alamitos, Calif.