SLO County man who stabbed, poured boiling oil on ex-foster mom sentenced to prison
An Arroyo Grande man who stabbed and poured boiling oil on his former foster mother was sentenced Monday in San Luis Obispo Superior Court to eight years to life in prison.
According to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office, Matthew Leroy Ehens, 39, was sentenced after pleading no contest to charges of torture and elder abuse of his 79-year-old adoptive mom.
Ehens poured a pot of boiling peanut oil on his ex-foster mother’s upper body and face during an argument at their home in Arroyo Grande in August 2019, according to an agency news release. He then stabbed her in the back with a large kitchen knife before fleeing in his car.
A high-speed chase ensued, the release said. Ehens then crashed his vehicle and was arrested.
According to the release, Ehens’ former foster mother suffered serious burns over 17% of her body and required extensive medical treatment including hospitalization and a skin grafting surgery.
“This life sentence is appropriate considering the unimaginable pain the defendant inflicted upon this courageous elder adult survivor who loved and raised him,” District Attorney Dan Dow said in the release. “Our community will not tolerate elder abuse. I encourage those who suffer from or witness elder abuse to report these crimes to law enforcement.”
The case was investigated by the Arroyo Grande Police Department and the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Kristin Barnard, with support from the District Attorney’s Christopher G. Money Victim Witness Assistance Center.
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