Jason Bautista

Background

Jason Bautista killed his mother, Jane Bautista. Jane Bautista was 41 years old when she was killed. She had paranoia and mental illness, and she became abusive as her paranoia and mental illness got worse. Her first husband committed suicide 19 years before her death, and her second husband had left her.

Jason Bautista attended Paloma Valley High School in Menifee. He later became a desk clerk at a Holiday Inn in Ontario and also had been a one-time biochemistry student at Cal State San Bernardino. The family had moved repeatedly and depended on financial help from family members. Jane Bautista and her sons had moved into an apartment in Riverside about six months before the killing. The family was originally from Illinois and moved to California six years before the killing. Jane Bautista was unemployed.

Jason Bautista’s half-brother was Matthew Montejo. Matthew Montejo was 15 at the time of the killing, and he was 17 by the time he testified during the murder trial. Matthew Montejo described their relationship with their mother as fearful. He said: “We were both scared of her. She said she would kill us any time we said we were going to call the police.”

The offence

Jane Bautista was strangled. Her head and hands were cut off. The killing involved dismemberment, and her body was later dumped.

Prosecutors said Jason Bautista cut off his mother’s head and hands to keep investigators from identifying her. Authorities said the decapitation and removal of her head and hands were done in a manner the sons allegedly saw on “The Sopranos.”

Jason Bautista testified that he killed Jane Bautista in “accidental self-defense.” He said she had lunged at him with a knife and he strangled her while he had her in a headlock as they struggled over the weapon. He testified that, because he did not think authorities would believe the killing was in self-defense, he cut off his mother’s head and hands to prevent her body from being identified. He also told jurors he learned how to conceal a victim’s identity in that manner by watching HBO’s “The Sopranos.”

Prosecutors argued that Jane Bautista’s erratic behavior cramped her son’s lifestyle and that he wanted to get rid of her. Assistant Public Defender Don Ronaldson told jurors that the abuse Jason Bautista endured included beatings, taunts, threats with a knife and beatings with sticks and clubs, one of which resulted in a visit to an emergency room. Ronaldson also said the mother’s paranoia left the family homeless at times because she believed neighbors turned against her. Ronaldson said that about three months before her death she had been relatively OK, but then got worse, and Jason Bautista could no longer tolerate it.

Authorities said the sons allegedly tried to dump Jane Bautista’s body in Oceanside the next day, but were spotted by a security guard and ended up throwing the body in an Orange County ravine. The guard gave police the license number of Jason Bautista’s car.

Investigation

Sheriff Michael Carona described the case publicly after the arrest and said: “I don't know what motive you could possibly give for killing your mother.” Carona said a preliminary autopsy showed Jane Bautista was strangled.

Police refused to say where Jane M. Bautista was killed, but said a preliminary autopsy showed she was strangled. Her head and hands were found in the apartment she shared with her sons in Riverside, east of Los Angeles.

Authorities said Jason Bautista and his half-brother were arrested over the weekend for investigation of murder. Investigators said the brothers decapitated the body because they believed it would remove identifying information marks.

Investigators said Jason Bautista had allegedly seen an episode of “The Sopranos” where he saw the same type of dismemberment that had been done before dumping a body. Authorities said the brothers did this because they believed it would “take away any identifying information that law enforcement could use.”

Arrest

Jason Bautista was arrested at California State University in San Bernardino on January 24. Investigators said he allegedly told them he and his brother lived with their mom but they hadn’t seen her for weeks, but soon confessed.

Matthew Montejo was identified as a 15-year-old half-brother in the case coverage at the time of initial charges and arrest.

Trial

In Orange County Superior Court, Jason Bautista was convicted of first-degree murder on February 4.

During the trial, Jason Bautista testified that he killed his mother in “accidental self-defense.” He also testified that after his mother was dead, he cut off her head and hands to hide her identity. He testified that his mother became abusive as her paranoia and mental illness got worse. He said he cut off the head and hands to prevent authorities from identifying her.

Assistant Public Defender Don Ronaldson told jurors about the alleged abuse, including beatings, taunts, threats with a knife, and beatings with sticks and clubs, one of which resulted in a visit to an emergency room. Ronaldson also described the family being homeless at times and said the mother’s paranoia led her to believe neighbors turned against her. Ronaldson said that about three months before her death she had been relatively OK, but then got worse.

A juror filed an affidavit saying she had changed her mind about her decision to convict for first-degree murder, and the juror said the circumstances of the mother-son relationship pointed toward a manslaughter charge, not murder. Orange County Superior Court Judge Frank Fasel rejected both Jason Bautista’s motion and the juror’s change of heart. Fasel said: “The jury got it right: first-degree murder. There is no (provision to allow for juror) remorse,” according to KCAL9.

Jason Bautista addressed the court after the sentencing decision. He told the judge: “I'm very sorry for all my actions, your honor, but it wasn't a first-degree murder in my opinion,” according to the television station. The judge asked back, “Is that it?” and hearing that it was, sentenced the defendant to 25 years to life in prison.

Matthew Montejo testified for the prosecution. He said he did not help kill his mother but helped dispose of her body. He also testified that their mother subjected Jason Bautista to years of beatings, threats and other abuse.

Sentencing

Jason Bautista was sentenced on April 8, 2005 to serve 25 years to life in prison. Last-minute events delayed but did not halt the sentencing: he first missed his bus to court, then attempted to fire his court-appointed attorney.

Appeals

A juror filed an affidavit saying she had changed her mind about her decision to convict for first-degree murder, saying the circumstances of the mother-son relationship pointed toward a manslaughter charge, not murder. Judge Frank Fasel rejected the juror’s change of heart.

Outcome

Jason Bautista was convicted of first-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

Matthew Montejo pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder after the fact for helping his half brother dispose of the body along a rural Orange County road. He was sentenced to the 749 days he had already been in jail, and then freed. Montejo later appeared described as released from juvenile.

Other details

The head and hands were later found in a duffel bag in the family’s Riverside home. Prosecutors said the killing occurred in Riverside, but Orange County prosecutors took over the case because the body was found in Orange County.

Authorities described Jane Bautista and her sons as transients who had moved repeatedly and depended on financial help from family members, including Jason Bautista’s job as a hotel clerk. Prosecutors said they had not yet disclosed a possible motive earlier in the case timeline.

Deputy District Attorney Michael Murray said prosecutors had not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty against Bautista, and California law prohibits the execution of minors.

Attorney John Kremmer, who represented Bautista, described a tumultuous relationship and said outside court: “They had a very tumultuous relationship,” and “All I can say is things aren't always as they might seem.”

Michelle Emard, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, said prosecutors intended to try Matthew Montejo as an adult under a juvenile crime law that allows them to make that decision in serious crimes without the approval of a judge. Matthew Montejo’s attorney, Stephen Klarich, said he would seek to have Montejo tried in Juvenile Court. Both Klarich and Kremmer declined comment about a possible connection to “The Sopranos.”

Deputies described Jane Bautista as unemployed, and said sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino described her first husband’s suicide and that her second husband left her.

Bail was set at $1 million for Matthew Benjamin Montejo and Jason Bautista at arraignment coverage. Their arraignment was postponed until February 14 on the request of their defense attorneys, who said they needed more time to review evidence and research the case.

The prosecution filed murder charges against Jason Bautista and Matthew Montejo, and prosecutors said Matthew Montejo would be tried as an adult.

Additional names and spellings appeared in the case coverage: Jason Bautista was also referred to as Jason Victor Bautista, and his mother as Jane Marie Bautista or Jane M. Bautista.