A man who allegedly killed his girlfriend with a sword in front of her four children in Lancaster nearly six years ago was ordered Thursday to stand trial.
Superior Court Judge Christopher Estes found sufficient evidence to require Jesus Humberto “Chuey” Canales, 34, to proceed to trial on one count of murder and four counts of child abuse.
Canales is accused of stabbing Lucy Preciado, 26, in her apartment around 2 a.m. on July 12, 2008.
Preciado’s then nine-year-old daughter called 911 to plead for help for her mortally wounded mother, telling a 911 operator that she didn’t want her mom to die.
Canales was subsequently profiled on the television show “America’s Most Wanted: America Fights Back.”
The Salvadoran native managed to elude capture until homicide detectives developed information that he might be residing in a small town in Jalisco, Mexico. He was detained last Nov. 14 by Mexican authorities, handed over to the U.S. Marshals Service and flown back to Los Angeles.
Canales is due back in court May 29 in Lancaster for arraignment.
