A Wildomar man has been arrested on suspicion of killing his 74-year-old mother more than a year after deputies first responded to her suspicious death at their family home. Justin Tyler Scott, 52, was taken into custody Friday and booked on suspicion of murder and elder abuse in the death of Bonnie Thompson, who lived in Wildomar.
According to MyNewsLA.com, Riverside County Sheriff's Department deputies responded at approximately 4:30 p.m. on July 27, 2025, to a suspicious death investigation in the 33000 block of Hidden Hollow Drive in Wildomar. Responding deputies and the sheriff's coroner began investigating the death, and per a Facebook post citing the Riverside County Sheriff's Office, coroner personnel had flagged suspicious circumstances surrounding Thompson's death, setting off a 13-month investigation before Scott was identified and arrested.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Office Central Homicide Unit assumed control of the investigation, according to the same account. Investigators ultimately identified 52-year-old Justin Tyler Scott of Wildomar, Thompson's biological son, as a suspect. Authorities announced the arrest of a 52-year-old man on suspicion of killing his 74-year-old mother, per the report from MyNewsLA.com.
Booking and Upcoming Court Date
Scott was booked into the Cois Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta, according to Riverside University Health System. He is expected to appear in court Tuesday at the Murrieta Southwest Justice Center, which serves as the primary Riverside County Superior Court facility handling criminal prosecutions for Southwest Riverside County communities including Wildomar, Murrieta, Temecula, and Lake Elsinore, per the Law Office of Nic Cocis.
The case falls under the jurisdiction of the Lake Elsinore Sheriff's Station, since Wildomar does not operate its own municipal police department and instead contracts with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department for local police services, according to the Riverside County Sheriff. Anyone with additional information has been encouraged to contact Investigator Dimaggio at 951-955-2777.
Charges Scott Could Face
Under California Penal Code Section 187, an unlawful killing committed with malice aforethought constitutes murder, carrying state prison sentences of 25 years to life for first-degree murder or 15 years to life for second-degree murder, according to the State of California Department of Justice. Separately, under Penal Code Section 368, felony elder abuse applies to offenses against victims aged 65 or older committed under circumstances likely to produce great bodily harm or death, and it carries five or seven additional years in state prison when the defendant causes the death of an elder victim, according to Cutter Law P.C..
A Familiar and Troubling Pattern in Wildomar
This is not the first time Wildomar has seen a case of alleged matricide. In April 2024, 24-year-old Evan Jon Zavala was arrested and charged with murder following the stabbing death of his mother inside her home on Breckenridge Trail, a case previously covered by Hoodline.
The case also arrives amid a much larger regional pattern of elder abuse reports. Riverside County agencies receive more than 35,000 reports of suspected elder and dependent adult abuse and neglect each year, according to the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services, prompting the county to run specialized forensic and financial abuse teams. Nationally, elder abuse cases can involve family members.
Despite this case, California's statewide homicide rate declined from 2024 to 2025. Homicide in Riverside County is also part of the broader discussion.
