O.C. man charged in ax slaying of stepmother due in court
A 21-year-old man from Lake Forest charged with murdering his stepmother with an ax is expected in court Tuesday for his arraignment.
Orange County sheriff’s deputies arrested the man, Oscar Luis Morlett, just before noon Friday.
Morlett was apprehended about two miles from the Foothill Ranch residence where his stepmother, Jeanne Ellen Morlett, 66, was found dead Friday morning, according to Orange County prosecutors.
Prosecutors say the unemployed stepson used “a type of ax” to kill her. In addition to the murder charge, he faces a sentencing enhancement over the use of a deadly weapon.
Oscar Morlett was held in lieu of $1-million bail at Central Jail in Santa Ana. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 26 years to life in state prison, according to prosecutors.
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Twitter: @emfoxhall / @PalomaEsquivel
emily.foxhall@latimes.com / paloma.esquivel@latimes.com
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