Man admits to fatally stabbing his mother at her Wildomar home

A 25-year-old man admitted to fatally stabbing his mother at her Wildomar home in 2024 on Thursday. 

Evan Jon Zavala pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon during a felony during a preliminary hearing at the Southwest Justice Center before Riverside County Superior Court Judge John Monteresso.

Investigators with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department say that they were called to the 33000 block of Breckenridge Trail back on April 23, 2024 at around 10 p.m. after learning of an assault in the area. 

Upon arrival, they found Zavala's 64-year-old mother, only identified in court documents as R.Z. suffering from multiple stab wounds. She was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was later declared dead. 

A motive for the assault has still not been publicly declared. 

Zavala will remain behind bars without bail until his sentencing hearing on May 2, when he was sentenced to 16 years to life in state prison.