Man Who Fatally Stabbed Mother in Calabasas Is Sentenced

A 29-year-old man accused in the stabbing death of his mother in Calabasas pleaded no contest Wednesday to second-degree murder charges.

After Jesse Bernard Winnick entered his plea, Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Lippitt sentenced him to 15 years to life in prison in the Sept. 25, 2007, slaying of Hadas Winnick, 55, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

The killing occurred at the family's home in the 3800 block of Declaration Avenue near Mulholland Highway in Calabasas.

Jesse Winnick's sister Amy received a call from her brother warning her not to come home because he had just killed their mother, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Authorities said Winnick took off in his mother's car, then abandoned it late that night and got into a 2007 Range Rover driven by an unidentified man.

Winnick's sister discovered the body that night and phoned the authorities, according to the DA's office.

Deputies pulled over the vehicle near Ventura Boulevard and De Soto Avenue in the Woodland Hills area, according to the Sheriff's Department.

Winnick was hiding in the back seat of the vehicle and it reportedly took authorities about half an hour to persuade him to get out of the car.

Hadas Winnick was divorced and had been a teacher for years 30 years. At the time of her death, she was a teacher at Canoga Park High School, according to the DA's office.

City News Service contributed to this report.