CONCORD, N.H. (January 29, 2013)--A 70-year-old California woman was stabbed to death by another guest in a random attack in a New Hampshire hotel lobby by another guest, authorities said.

Catherine "Kitty" Houghton, of Novato, Calif., traveled to New Hampshire for board meetings at the White Mountain School in Bethlehem from which she graduated in 1960

Prosecutors say she was in the lobby of the Hampton Inn in nearby Littleton on Monday evening when a 37-year-old man stabbed her in the neck and torso.

She died at a hospital.

Authorities don't know the motive for the attack.

A Vermont man is in custody.

Houghton was a trustee at the White Mountain School and a retired business counselor with the U.S. Commerce Department, often working under the auspices of the U.S. Foreign Service.