Saugus man accused of killing his mother appears in court

Friends of family of Maria Acevedo hold our their arms as part of a vigil in her honor in October at Central Park. Nikolas Samuels/The Signal
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A Saugus man accused of stabbing his mother to death appeared briefly in court Tuesday.

Jesse Lucatero, 24, faces one count of murder with the allegation he used a knife during the crime of killing his mother 56-year-old Maria Acevedo.

On Tuesday, he appeared in San Fernando Superior Court where he was ordered to return next month to set a date for a preliminary hearing.

During that hearing, prosecutors will present evidence in the case, and the defense can respond, after which the judge will decide if the case should go to trial.

Lucatero was ordered to appear in court July 26, Ricardo Santiago spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office told The Signal Tuesday afternoon.

He was arrested on Oct. 3, four hours after the stabbing, initially as a person of interest and then as the man suspected of murdering his mother inside the family home on the 19500 block of Castille Lane, prosecutors said.

Acevedo, 56, whose family runs a restaurant in Valencia called Margaritas Mexican Grill, was found by her husband – the defendant’s father – inside their home on Castille Lane, stabbed in the upper torso.

If convicted as charged, Lucatero faces a possible maximum sentence of 26 years to life in state prison. The requested bail is more than $2 million.

Deputy District Attorney Pam Revel is the assigned prosecutor.

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