Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Valley Center man accused in mother's death due in court

David Leroy Lucero Jr. was sent away to a mental hospital in 2010

Margo Jean Lucero, 53, had been locking her bedroom door at night because she was afraid of her 25-year-old son David, according to investigators who found the woman deceased in her own bed, almost two years ago.

The young man’s father reportedly arrived home about 1 p.m. on March 9, 2010, and found his wife in the master bedroom of their sprawling mansion overlooking Valley Center, in a rural part of San Diego County. Investigators later reported finding the door to her room damaged, as if it had been forced open.

The San Diego County Medical Examiner said Margo Jean Lucero died of “stab wounds of left shoulder and chest” and declared her death a homicide.

David Lucero Sr. said he had last spoken to his wife about 10:30 the night before, according to Sheriff’s detective David Hillen. The husband told deputies they were both concerned that their son was mentally ill and had stopped taking his prescription medications; he described his son’s behavior as increasingly bizarre over the last two weeks, before his wife was found dead.

It was widely reported that Margo Jean Lucero had called for help the night of March 8, 2010, asking deputies to take her son David to a mental hospital. But the officers who responded to the home on Costalota Road reportedly declined to take the young man away.

The day after the body was discovered, on March 10, 2010, the fugitive son was arrested at an Indian reservation near Tucson, Arizona. The missing Mercedes which belonged to Margo Lucero was found about ten miles away, according to detective Hillen.

David Leroy Lucero Jr. is now in jail, with a court date set for Friday, January 25. This appearance is described as a mental competency hearing. The accused man was last in court in 2010, when he was declared mentally incompetent and sent away to a mental hospital; the criminal case was suspended.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/14/38382/

Image: Home where mother was found overlooks Valley Center. Photo Weatherston.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Live Five: Rebecca Jade, Stoney B. Blues, Manzanita Blues, Blame Betty, Marujah

Holiday music, blues, rockabilly, and record releases in Carlsbad, San Carlos, Little Italy, downtown

Margo Jean Lucero, 53, had been locking her bedroom door at night because she was afraid of her 25-year-old son David, according to investigators who found the woman deceased in her own bed, almost two years ago.

The young man’s father reportedly arrived home about 1 p.m. on March 9, 2010, and found his wife in the master bedroom of their sprawling mansion overlooking Valley Center, in a rural part of San Diego County. Investigators later reported finding the door to her room damaged, as if it had been forced open.

The San Diego County Medical Examiner said Margo Jean Lucero died of “stab wounds of left shoulder and chest” and declared her death a homicide.

David Lucero Sr. said he had last spoken to his wife about 10:30 the night before, according to Sheriff’s detective David Hillen. The husband told deputies they were both concerned that their son was mentally ill and had stopped taking his prescription medications; he described his son’s behavior as increasingly bizarre over the last two weeks, before his wife was found dead.

It was widely reported that Margo Jean Lucero had called for help the night of March 8, 2010, asking deputies to take her son David to a mental hospital. But the officers who responded to the home on Costalota Road reportedly declined to take the young man away.

The day after the body was discovered, on March 10, 2010, the fugitive son was arrested at an Indian reservation near Tucson, Arizona. The missing Mercedes which belonged to Margo Lucero was found about ten miles away, according to detective Hillen.

David Leroy Lucero Jr. is now in jail, with a court date set for Friday, January 25. This appearance is described as a mental competency hearing. The accused man was last in court in 2010, when he was declared mentally incompetent and sent away to a mental hospital; the criminal case was suspended.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/14/38382/

Image: Home where mother was found overlooks Valley Center. Photo Weatherston.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Man Admits Setting Fire to Girlfriend's Home

Next Article

Bag of meth was hanging over the baby's crib, police say

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader