Victim’s Son, 15, to Be Tried as Adult

A 15-year-old Simi Valley boy arrested in the fatal stabbing of his mother will be tried as an adult on one count of murder.

Jason Leon Amico, a student at Royal High School, was arrested at the Van Nuys residence of a relative on Saturday afternoon, less than two hours after Reina Amico, 41, was stabbed several times in the chest at her home in the 1600 block of Blackwall Drive in Simi Valley.

Other relatives were at the residence when the attack occurred about 4 p.m.

The Ventura County district attorney’s office decided to try the juvenile as an adult because of the seriousness of the crime and the circumstances, according to Stacy Ratner, senior deputy district attorney.

“Based on the nature of the crime, the planning of it, we thought it was warranted,” said Ratner, who refused to discuss specifics in the case.

Amico made his first court appearance Tuesday afternoon before Ventura County Superior Court Judge Roland Purnell, but his public defender requested a two-week postponement of his arraignment.

The teenager is scheduled to return to court May 18.

If convicted, Ratner said Amico could face 26 years to life in prison.