Man Suspected Of Murdering Mother-In-Law In Laguna Beach Slated For Trial 12 Years After His Arrest

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — A Laguna Beach man accused of killing his mother-in-law and dumping her body in Laguna Beach is headed to a jury trial in October — 12 years after he was arrested and nearly 28 years after she died, court records show.

As of Thursday, it wasn't immediately clear why the notorious case has been delayed for over a decade. The Orange County District Attorney's Office has not commented on the case.

After his initial arrest in 2014, John Edward Moll Gutierrez pleaded not guilty to the 1998 murder of his 55-year-old mother-in-law, Lillian DeVilla, who was found beaten to death in a field five days after she went missing, according to police. He spent the next 12 years waiving his right to a speedy trial, court records appear to show. Then on Jan. 9, 2024, he was arraigned again, and pleaded not guilty once more. A jury trial is now scheduled to begin on Oct. 1 in the Superior Court of Orange County.

Investigators say Gutierrez lived with DeVilla and his wife, Aileen, in a Laguna Beach condo. On the night of the slaying, he is accused of arguing with his mother-in-law, killing her, tying plastic around her head, and then dumping her body in a field on Laguna Canyon Road for city workers to find.

"The coroner’s office determined that DeVilla was knocked unconscious by a blunt object and asphyxiated, a report from the Daily Pilot reported at the time. "Authorities believe the crime took place inside her home and then her corpse was dumped 5 miles away."

In 2014, Gutierrez who was working as a landscaper at the time of his arrest, was taken into custody outside an Aliso Viejo gym, according to then reports from the OC Register. He was later charged with his mother-in-law's murder and was out on a $500,000 bond, reduced from the original 2014 bond set at $1 million, according to court records.

Gutierrez is represented by Thomas Edward Welbourn, Allan Stokke and Katherine Corrigan. Prosecutors include Mike Flory, Matthew Murphy, David Porter, Eric Scarbrough and Cheryl Gold of the OC District Attorney's Office.