Son pleads guilty to killing father in Ontario motel

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A man who stabbed his father to death at an Ontario motel in 2006 has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and been sentenced to 16 years to life in prison.

Henry Abrego Jr., 28, said in interviews with police that he killed his 49-year-old father, Henry Abrego Sr., after his father exposed himself in a bed the two were sharing at the Capri Motel on East Holt Boulevard.

The junior Abrego had previously pleaded not guilty to the crime by reason of insanity, but he changed his plea to guilty Friday in West Valley Superior Court.

In October 2006, Abrego said his father was helping him move after he was thrown out of his home. The pair decided to stay in a motel for a night or two, Abrego told investigators.

Early in the morning of Oct. 29, the junior Abrego said he woke up and felt his father's hands touching his hips. He also said his father's pants were down.

Abrego said he got out of the bed to sleep on the floor, but was unable to fall asleep after two hours of thinking about his father's lewd act. He told investigators he then decided to stab his father to death.

Abrego stabbed his father several times in the room at about 6 a.m., and the elder Abrego fled the room seeking help.

The father banged on the door of a nearby room seeking help, and a couple inside fetched water and towels intending to help the injured man.

But the junior Abrego emerged holding a knife, and the couple closed the door as he approached his injured father.

One of the people inside the room testified during a preliminary hearing that he watched through a window as the junior Abrego proceeded to stab his father to death.

Parts of the attack were also recorded on motel surveillance cameras.