An April 7 trial date was confirmed Friday for a convicted felon accused of fatally stabbing his older brother during a confrontation at their Menifee home.
Abisola Afuwape, now 33, was arrested in 2022 following a Menifee Police Department investigation into the slaying of 33-year-old Abiodun Afuwape.
The defendant is charged with first-degree murder and a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a knife in the commission of a felony.
During a status hearing at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta Friday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge John Molloy conferred with the prosecution and defense, and both sides agreed to make preparations for trial proceedings in early April.
Afuwape is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Smith Correctional Facility.
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.
Gutierrez said 911 dispatchers received a report of a suicide, with the caller stating that the victim required lifesaving treatment.
Patrol officers and county fire paramedics reached the location in 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.
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.