Parking an issue in fatal Pleasant Hill stabbing

The fatal stabbing of a Pleasant Hill woman, allegedly by her live-in caretaker, resulted in part over a dispute the two had over where the suspect had parked, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

Diane Cheryl Warrick, 56, was charged Tuesday with murder and an enhancement for allegedly using a knife to kill 70-year-old Mary Scanlon at the home they shared on the 1800 block of Elinora Drive, said John Cope, a Contra Costa County deputy district attorney.

The two had gotten into an argument over parking, but it was "not the sole issue" that led to the slaying, said Pleasant Hill police Lt. Dan Connelly. "There was some friction between the two over other issues," said Connelly, who declined to elaborate.

"Basically, she was a disgruntled employee," Cope said of Warrick, who had spent six years in a mental hospital after being wounded in a shootout with police in 1997.

A neighbor found Scanlon dead at about 4:45 p.m. last Wednesday. She had been stabbed numerous times, the Contra Costa County coroner's office said.