MURRIETA – A felon accused of fatally stabbing his older brother during a confrontation at their Menifee home must stand trial on a murder charge, a judge ruled today.
Abisola Afuwape, 31, was arrested last year following an investigation by the Menifee Police Department into the slaying of 33-year-old Abiodun Afuwape.
At the end of a preliminary hearing Friday at the Southwest Justice Center, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Timothy Freer found there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial on the murder count, as well as a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a knife in the commission of a felony.
Freer scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for Sept. 19 at the Murrieta courthouse and ordered that Afuwape remain held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.
According to Menifee police Capt. Dave Gutierrez, the defendant allegedly attacked his older sibling in the predawn hours of Oct. 7, 2022, in the 28200 block of Serenity Falls Way, near Bankside Drive.
He said 911 dispatchers received a report of a suicide, with the caller stating that the victim required life-saving treatment.
Patrol officers and county fire paramedics reached the location within minutes and found Abiodun Afuwape suffering “significant trauma to his upper body, inconsistent with a suicide,” according to Gutierrez.
Paramedics attempted to resuscitate him, but the victim died at the residence, the captain said.
Homicide detectives were summoned and took over the investigation. They interviewed the defendant and initially arrested him based on a parole revocation warrant.
“Detectives and crime scene investigators continued their extensive investigation, which included crime scene analysis, evidence analysis, statements and collaboration with the District Attorney’s Office,” Gutierrez said. “As a result of their investigative efforts, detectives developed probable cause to arrest (Afuwape) for the murder of his brother.”
The defendant was taken into custody without incident three days later.
No other details were provided, including a possible motive.
According to court records, Afuwape has prior convictions for receiving stolen property and illegal possession of a firearm.
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