Trial begins for Calif. man charged with conspiring to have his parents stabbed

Calif man accused of orchestrating parents’ deaths

SANTA ANA, Calif. — California prosecutors say a former Catholic prep school student who allegedly stole $18,000 of his family’s money and spent it in a strip club conspired to stab his parents to death to steal their savings.

Orange County prosecutors said in opening arguments Monday that 29-year-old Jose Najera Jr. plotted with his best friend, Gerald Johnson, to kill his parents in 1999 so he could have their life savings.

Johnson was convicted in 2002 of stabbing Elena and Jose Najera Sr. and is serving life in prison. Najera Jr. was arrested in 2008.

Prosecutors say the young man stole from his parents before the murders and lost much of it in a failed drug deal.

Najera’s attorney says the evidence will prove his client’s innocence.