Son Held in Fatal Stabbing of Mother

An Alhambra man was arrested Friday on suspicion of fatally stabbing his 50-year-old mother at their home, officials said.

Andrew Akamoto, 29, whom authorities and acquaintances said suffers from a mental impairment, was booked at the Alhambra police station after he initially told investigators that gang members broke in and killed his mother, officials said.

The body of his mother, Jolene, who had been stabbed repeatedly, was discovered Thursday in the living room by his father, Takashi, when he arrived home from work. The elder Akamoto called police around 7:35 p.m.

The suspect, who was in the house in the 2500 block of Hagen Drive when police arrived, told them the slaying occurred more than three hours earlier.

“He initially told officers that between 10 and 25 people broke into the house and did it,” police Sgt. Phil Sheridon said.

Alhambra police called the county Sheriff’s Department, which assists with murder cases in the city, and Friday morning deputies arrested Andrew Akamoto. He is being held without bail at the County Jail and is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday morning at the Alhambra courthouse.

Detectives have found no motive for the slaying, said sheriff’s Deputy Cruz Solis, who added that investigators are trying to determine if Andrew Akamoto has the mental capacity to stand trial.

“It appears that [Akamoto] does have some type of mental disability, but we don’t know to what extent,” Solis said.

Neighbors described the victim and her son as amiable, but quiet, and said they often strolled around the neighborhood together. They said Andrew waved vigorously at drivers, smiling eagerly, and sometimes trailing behind his mother.

“He’d wave like a hundred times,” said Kenji Mukai, who lives next door. “He seemed like a good guy.”

Mukai and others said Akamoto had a mental and speech impairment, and when not on his walks, usually stayed at home.

They said they were shocked by a slaying in the middle-class, meticulously manicured community.

“This is a nice neighborhood,” said Theresa Sunseri, who has lived in the area for 51 years. “This is the first tragedy we’ve had.”

The Akamotos lived in a small beige home, with neatly trimmed hedges and grass that the father would be seen tending on weekends. Sunseri said that because the family seemed so friendly, she always sent her grandchildren to the home when they had candy to sell for school fund-raising drives.

“It’s such a shock to me,” Sunseri said. “The mother was a very, very nice person.”