Man Accused in Palm Springs Fatal Stabbing to Stand Trial
A 65-year-old man accused in the fatal stabbing of a woman in Palm Springs must stand trial on the murder charge, a judge ruled today.
In addition to the murder charge Miguel Hernandez Toscano was facing two felony counts of willful child cruelty and one misdemeanor court of willful cruelty to a child, according to court records. He also faces a sentence-enhancing allegations of using a deadly weapon.
At the end of a preliminary hearing Friday morning at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, Riverside County Superior Court Judge James Stafford Hawkins discharged the two willful child cruelty counts and found that there was sufficient evidence to hold Toscano to answer to the remaining charges and allegation.
A post-preliminary hearing arraignment was set for March 27.
Officers responded to the 1700 block of East Arenas Road at around 9:50 p.m. March 1, 2022 to a report of a stabbing, according to the Palm Springs Police Department.
Police said that Ernestina Oropeza, 48, was found at the scene suffering from stab wounds. She succumbed to her injuries at the scene.
Toscano was detained later that same night and was booked into the John Benoit Detention Center, where he remains held on $1 million bail.
He has no prior felony convictions in Riverside County.
