LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Lake County Superior Court judge on Monday ordered an Upper Lake man to stand trial for the January shooting death of his stepmother.
Matthew Daniel Mora, 35, is charged with killing Christine Mora, 56, at the Upper Lake home they shared on Jan. 26, as Lake County News has reported.
Following a 40-minute preliminary hearing on Monday afternoon, Judge J. David Markham ordered Matthew Mora to stand trial for Christine Mora’s murder.
Matthew Mora also faces trial for charges of assault with a semiautomatic weapon on his father William Mora – who he had pointed the gun at before shooting his stepmother – and negligent discharge of a firearm for having shot off a round from his handgun while walking along Highway 20 shortly before the deadly confrontation.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff called two witnesses to the stand during the hearing, both deputies with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office: Andrew Moyeda and Investigator Jeffrey Mora, who is no relation to Matthew Mora and his family.
Moyeda said he was on duty on Tuesday, Jan. 26, when he dispatched to a home in the 600 block of E. Highway 20 in Upper Lake for a gunshot victim.
When he arrived on the scene at 5:45 p.m., he found Christine Mora’s body at the home’s front door. Her husband was outside and he spoke to Moyeda.
“He told me that his son Matthew Mora shot his wife,” Moyeda said.
William Mora told authorities that he took the Glock 27 40-caliber semiautomatic handgun that his son had used to shoot his wife and seized it from his son, taking it to he and his wife’s bedroom at the back of the house and placing it on the foot of the bed.
That’s where Moyeda said he found it with a live round in the chamber and an unknown number of rounds in the magazine.
William Mora said he’d also taken another Glock handgun from his son and placed it in the bedroom, but Moyeda said he didn’t find that weapon.
After the shooting, Matthew Mora left the home. Moyeda assisted with arresting Mora shortly before 9:30 p.m. that same night at the Super 8 Motel in Upper Lake, just over a quarter mile from the shooting scene, and transported him to the sheriff’s office to be interviewed.
Investigator testifies about interviews
Jeffrey Mora was advised of the shooting just after 6 p.m. Jan. 26 and responded to the sheriff’s office administration headquarters in Lakeport to interview William Mora, who told him that his son shot his wife.
Investigators prepared a photo lineup for William Mora who confirmed the shooter was his son, Jeffrey Mora said.
William Mora explained during the interview that he, Christine and Matthew lived together.
Earlier on the day of the shooting, sometime between 4 and 5 p.m., Matthew Mora had arrived home from the nearby Running Creek Casino. William Mora told investigators that his son appeared upset or angry and reported that he had been kicked out of the casino.
Matthew Mora then said, “I’m strapping up and f*** those Indians.”
William Mora told his son that he shouldn’t be at the house intoxicated if his wife Christine was home, although she wasn’t yet there. He recommended his son go to a hotel, and Matthew Mora grabbed a backpack and two handguns and left. At some point before he left, Matthew Mora told his father that he let his wife boss him around.
It was around 30 minutes later that Matthew Mora returned to the house. By that time, Christine Mora had gotten home.
Matthew Mora came inside the home, and William and Christine Mora told him he needed to leave, that he wasn’t welcome because he was intoxicated.
That’s when, according to his father’s account, Matthew Mora pulled out a handgun and pointed it at his father, who was standing about 10 feet away, calling him an expletive and mocking him for flinching.
Then, Matthew Mora pointed the gun at Christine Mora, who was standing directly in front of him, at a distance of about 2 feet. He shot once, hitting her in the face.
After shooting her, Matthew Mora swore and appeared surprised, his father told the investigator.
After his wife was shot, William Mora rushed his son and took the firearm he’d used in the shooting as well as another he’d had tucked in his waistband. William Mora took the guns to his bedroom and then returned, telling his son to leave and pushing him out of the house.
Matthew Mora fell over backwards after being pushed before getting up and leaving on foot. His father opened the gate in the driveway to let in emergency vehicles and then returned to his wife, talking to her and calling her name, but she didn’t respond.
Later in the night, the sheriff’s office received a tip that Matthew Mora was in Room 101 at the Super 8 Motel, which is where he was arrested. Jeffrey Mora said they also recovered his backpack, along with handgun magazines and ammunition.
Investigator Mora later interviewed Matthew Mora. “In summary, Matthew told me he didn’t remember shooting Christine because he was too intoxicated,” and that it was a nightmare and he had blacked out.
Matthew Mora told the investigator that he had a sense of guilt from doing something bad but wouldn’t say what that bad thing was.
He said he and his father and stepmother had their problems, telling the investigator that some days they were nice to him and some days they weren’t, calling him a loser.
When told that his father said he’s shot his stepmother, Matthew Mora said, “Then that’s what I did then, but I don’t remember doing that.”
Jeffrey Mora said deputies had been able to track Matthew Mora’s movements before the shooting, explaining that he was at Woody’s Gas Station about 30 minutes beforehand. There, three employees reported coming in contact with him.
One told investigators that he wished Matthew Mora a good night, to which he responded, “It’s not going to be.”
Matthew Mora purchased a pack of Modelo beer and was walking along the nearby bridge on Highway 20 when he pulled out the handgun and fired a round in the air, according to witnesses. Jeffrey Mora said he and another detective later went to the site and were able to find a 40-caliber shell casing that matched the type used to kill Christine Mora.
Her autopsy, conducted by Dr. Bennet Omalu, concluded that Christine Mora died of a gunshot wound to the head and the face, Jeffrey Mora said.
During cross-examination, defense attorney Dana Liberatore brought up statements William Mora had made about his son drinking for several days before the shooting due to the death of a friend.
He asked if father and son had struggled after the shooting, and Jeffrey Mora said William Mora didn’t describe a struggle, but said his son had left peacefully. He also didn’t describe any specific problems between his wife of 20 years and his son, and didn’t report a motive for the shooting.
Matthew Mora had reportedly told investigators that he hadn’t slept for days before the shooting.
Jeffrey Mora said he interviewed Matthew Mora’s mother by phone, and she said he had alcohol problems and mental health issues for which he’s being treated.
During a brief closing argument, Hinchcliff said there was plenty of evidence to hold Matthew Mora for trial on the charges and Markham agreed, ordering him to stand trial.
Markham set Matthew Mora for arraignment in his Department 2 courtroom at 9 a.m. March 16.
Matthew Mora remains in the Lake County Jail with bail set at $2,150,000, according to jail records.
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Upper Lake man held for trial in stepmother’s murder
- Elizabeth Larson
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