Family of Slain Yuba City Woman Stabbed To Death In D.C. Searching For Answers

YUBA CITY (CBS13) — The family of a UC Davis graduate is in mourning after their daughter was killed in Washington D.C.

Margery Magill was fatally stabbed while she was dog walking Tuesday night.

The Magill family is still trying to comprehend what happened. Her father Jeff spoke from their ranch outside Yuba City Wednesday. 

"It's like the twilight zone. Am I going to wake up and this is a dream?" he said. 

Jeff Magill was woken up around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday by a call no parent wants to receive. 

A detective from 3,000 miles away told him his 27-year-old daughter had been stabbed and killed Tuesday evening while walking a dog on a quiet street in NW Washington DC.  

"She loved DC. That was probably her dream city to work and that's why she went back there," he said. 

READ: Memorial Held For Parmjit Singh In The Same Park Where He Was Stabbed To Death

Margery got her bachelor's degree from UC Davis in 2015 in International Agricultural Development and had just started working for the Washington Center, a place where she had interned previously. 

Her father said she trained people for study abroad programs like the one she attended at UC Davis. 

Margery loved to travel and actually received her masters degree from Westminster College in London. She had visited more than 20 countries, living her life with passion and zeal and no regrets.

"She's probably lived more in her life than a lotta people live their whole life," Jeff said. 

ALSO: Search Continues For Suspect Vehicle In Fatal Hit-And-Run

Magill was close with his daughter and said she called him often asking about his projects back at home. He marveled at her drive and her friendly nature.

 "She just was a positive person, fun-loving, helpful. She just loved helping people out," he said.  

Jeff Magill said that's one of the reasons Margery was considering joining the Peace Corps.

Authorities say they arrested a man, 24-year-old Eliyas Aregahegne, and have charged him with first-degree murder.

But the Magill family still has so many questions as to why this happened and who Aregahegne is.