South OC Man Stabbed Estranged Wife Over Date With Other Man, Prosecutors Say

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA — A San Juan Capistrano man accused of stabbing his estranged wife to death at their home believed she had a date lined up with another man during the Valentine's Day weekend, prosecutors said Thursday.

Stephen Anthony Demora, 62, was charged with murder with an enhancement for personal use of a knife, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

He faces 26 years to life in state prison if convicted on all charges.

Prosecutors said Demora stabbed Debora Jean Demora, 59, in the garage of the San Juan Capistrano home in the 26000 block of Laurelwood Lane.

Orange County Sheriff's deputies responded to the incident at about 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14 after receiving a call from a woman who said her brother-in-law had called and told her he had "killed his wife with a knife," OCDA Spokeswoman Kimberly Edds told The Orange County Register.

Upon arrival, deputies found Debora Demora lying in a pool of her blood.

According to OC District Attorney Todd Spitzer, the couple had been estranged for the last 10 years but continued to live in the home together.

"This is a tragedy on so many levels that a relationship that stretched over so many decades could erupt in such brutality on a day meant to celebrate love," Spitzer said in a statement.

Stephen Demora was taken to a hospital for treatment of self-inflicted injuries before he was booked into jail.

He was being held on $1 million bail, prosecutors said.