William Marrufo

Background

William Jesus Marrufo was a former drummer for the band Ozomatli.

Marrufo’s family stated that they knew he had been mentally ill for years and that they were trying to get him psychiatric help.

The offence

On January 5, 2005, Marrufo attacked and killed his mother, Teresa Marrufo, while she was driving him home from his sister's residence. When they arrived at the house, Marrufo severely beat his mother's head against the pavement in the driveway outside of their Fountain Valley home.

Marrufo then retrieved two meat cleavers and a boning knife from inside the house and went back outside to murder his mother by slashing and stabbing her to death with the two meat cleavers and the boning knife.

Marrufo informed detectives that he believed his mother was possessed by Satan and that he was trying to save her soul.

Investigation

Marrufo told detectives that he believed his mother was possessed by Satan and that he was trying to save her soul.

Defense attorneys said Marrufo was bipolar and was hallucinating during the attack.

Trial

Marrufo pleaded “not guilty by reason of insanity,” and the trial was held in two phases: the guilt phase and the sanity phase.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Margaret Roper of the Homicide Unit prosecuted the case.

A jury in December found that Marrufo was not guilty by reason of insanity in the January 2005 killing of his 58-year-old mother, Teresa, in the driveway of their home.

Sentencing

A judge ordered Marrufo hospitalized until a jury determined that his sanity had been restored.

Superior Court Judge Richard Toohey was expected to commit Marrufo to a state mental hospital at a Jan. 26 hearing. Marrufo was to be treated at the hospital until a separate Superior Court jury decided that his sanity had been restored.

Outcome

Three sisters and the father of a Fountain Valley man who hacked his mother to death burst out in sobs when he was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Marrufo walked into court before the verdicts, smiled at his family, blew them kisses and mouthed, “I love you.”

Marrufo sat quietly at the counsel table when the insanity finding was announced after a day of deliberations.

Defense attorney Dennis O'Connell told Marrufo’s family as they hugged one another outside the courtroom:

“He's going to a mental hospital where he belongs,”
“He doesn't belong in prison.”

William Marrufo had previously been convicted in 2006 of first degree murder with an enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon, and he was subsequently found not guilty by reason of insanity and placed into a state mental institution.

Other details

• Marrufo was arrested on January 5, 2005, for beating, slashing and stabbing his mother to death with two meat cleavers and a boning knife.
• Marrufo was 35 at the time of the insanity verdict.
• Marrufo’s mother was 58-year-old Teresa Marrufo.
• Wilbert Marrufo, Marrufo’s father, said: “We're all very happy.”