Prosecutors charged Taylor Roger Free with murder Tuesday, July 28, in the killing of Cheyenne Zampino at a Pico Boulevard assisted living facility. They added a special allegation for use of a deadly weapon.

Free, 35, of San Luis Obispo, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment at the Airport Branch Courthouse, the Westside Current reported. He is being held on $2 million bail.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office determined that Zampino, 27, died from "sharp force injuries" to the neck, according to Patch, citing court records and the District Attorney's Office. Initial reports on Sunday, July 26, including from the Santa Monica Daily Press, had described the death as a beating. The medical examiner's finding is consistent with the deadly weapon allegation prosecutors attached to the charge.

What happened

Santa Monica police received a call at about 5:20 p.m. Saturday, July 25, about a woman needing medical assistance at The Manor, 1905 Pico Blvd. Officers found Zampino in a bathroom with significant injuries. Santa Monica Fire Department paramedics attempted life-saving measures, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lt. Lewis Gilmour, the SMPD spokesman, confirmed to City News Service that the killing occurred at The Manor, a facility that serves adults with mental illness and developmental disabilities. Witness statements led detectives to identify Free as a suspect, and LAPD officers arrested him around 8 p.m. that same evening near Crenshaw and Exposition boulevards in Los Angeles, the Santa Monica Daily Press reported.

Neighbors told KTLA that Zampino had moved into The Manor just two weeks before the attack. Police have not confirmed that detail.

The facility

The Manor is a state-licensed Adult Residential Facility across the street from Santa Monica College. Its website says it has provided room, board, care and supervision since the 1960s for people with mental illness and developmental disabilities. The three-story property at 1905 Pico Blvd. has 155 beds; a second property at 1921 Pico Blvd. has 16 units.

The Santa Monica Lookout has reported that the facility has long drawn criticism from Pico and Sunset Park neighbors and is a frequent source of calls to police.

Homicide count

The killing was the fifth homicide in Santa Monica in 2026, already exceeding the city's full-year total of four in 2025. "None of the homicides are related," Lt. Gilmour said on Monday, July 27, when the arrest was first announced.

The investigation remains active. Anyone with information can call the Santa Monica Police Department at 310-458-8491.