Bail was set at $500,000 and a competency evaluation was ordered Thursday for a 37-year-old Duluth man accused of stabbing his mother to death.
Carmen Emigdio Mosqueda was formally charged in State District Court in Duluth with a count of second-degree murder in the death of 71-year-old Mary Margaret Mosqueda early Tuesday morning.
The criminal complaint filed in the case offers few new details about Mary Mosqueda’s death or the events leading up to it. The charges state that Carmen Mosqueda killed his mother “with intent to effect the death of the victim,” but without premeditation.
Mosqueda allegedly met officers at the door of his mother’s home, 810 N. 24th Ave. W., about 2 a.m. Tuesday and told them they should arrest him because he had just killed his mother. Inside, Mary Mosqueda’s body was found with stab wounds to the chest and lacerations to the neck and head, according to the complaint.
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Prosecutor Nate Stumme asked Judge Sally Tarnowski to set bail at $500,000, citing the “overwhelming strength of the case.”
Public defender Kevin Cornwell did not object to the recommendation, saying he expected bail to be set at a high level.
“Mr. Mosqueda could not afford anything, quite frankly, close to that,” Cornwell told the court.
Cornwell asked that Mosqueda undergo a psychological evaluation before the case proceeds. Tarnowski granted the motion to determine whether Mosqueda is competent to participate in his own legal defense, and whether he understood his actions at the time of the incident.
No future hearings have been set. Cornwell said it would probably take about six weeks for the evaluation to be completed.
Mosqueda was civilly committed for mental illness and chemical dependency treatment in 2010, according to court records. Mosqueda admitted that he was mentally ill and chemically dependent, and agreed to a six-month commitment at a treatment facility, according to the records. The commitment was later extended for an additional six months.
Several people who knew the family reported that Mosqueda has struggled with mental illness. A neighbor stated that he did not live with his mother, but visited on occasion. Court records do not list a permanent address for Mosqueda.
According to the criminal complaint:
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A male called 911 at 1:54 a.m. Tuesday and asked for police to come to the Lincoln Park residence, but provided no explanation.
Officers arriving on scene were met by Carmen Mosqueda, who, without prompting, placed his hands behind his back and indicated he should be arrested. He stated he had killed his mother with a knife.
Officers arrested Mosqueda and noticed traces of blood on his hands. Officers entered the residence and found Mary Mosqueda’s lifeless body on the floor. She was quickly confirmed dead from stab wounds to the chest and multiple lacerations to her neck and head.
Two knives were found near the body.
