A man who fatally stabbed his mother at their Clairemont apartment pleaded guilty Tuesday to second-degree murder.
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Jamal Aytes, 32, is slated to be sentenced to 16 years to life in state prison for the stabbing death of 60-year-old Jacqueline Aytes, who was killed at the apartment they shared on Mesa College Drive.
According to testimony from a preliminary hearing held last year, the victim sustained 27 stab or incise wounds to both the front and back of her head, torso, arms and legs.
Police were initially called by Jamal Aytes just after 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 19, 2024, just hours before police found his mother dead.
Jamal Aytes had told police his mother was “having a mental breakdown” and had threatened him with a butter knife, San Diego police homicide Lt. Jud Campbell said. Officers responded to the apartment, but concluded after an evaluation of Jacqueline Aytes that “she did not meet the criteria for a mental-health hold” and that no crime had occurred. Jamal Aytes was not at the apartment when officers responded.
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About three hours later, Jamal Aytes showed up at a hospital with cuts to his hands, Campbell said. Officers then went back to the Aytes’ residence and found the victim dead.
Deputy District Attorney Kristie Nikoletich argued at the hearing that Aytes’ hand injury was most likely sustained when part of the knife broke during the alleged attack, causing his hand to slip and get sliced on the blade.
The prosecutor said no knives or other items that could be used by Jacqueline Aytes as weapons were found near her body.
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Aytes is scheduled for sentencing on July 29.
