Man Who Fatally Stabbed Mom At Her Riverside Home Sentenced

RIVERSIDE, CA — A Riverside man who fatally stabbed his 62-year-old mother during an argument at her Riverside apartment was sentenced Friday to 16 years to life in state prison.

Otis James Porter, 41, last week pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon -- a knife - - in the commission of a felony under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.

No charges were dismissed under the deal, which Superior Court Judge Joshlyn Pulliam certified on Friday during a hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice. She imposed the sentence required by law.

Porter was arrested immediately after the March 21, 2021, attack on Linda Coleman at her residence in the 4200 block of Monroe Street, near California Avenue.

According to Riverside police Officer Ryan Railsback, the defendant and his mother got into an argument that escalated into physical violence that afternoon, and Porter grabbed a knife and stabbed her numerous times.

"He also stabbed himself ... causing injuries to one of his legs," Railsback said.

The reason for the argument wasn't specified.

Porter called 911 after his mother collapsed, telling a dispatcher that he had attacked her and injured himself in the process. Railsback said that officers arrived within a couple of minutes and took the defendant into custody without a struggle.

The patrolmen attempted CPR on Coleman, and fire department paramedics also tried to keep her alive until reaching Riverside Community Hospital, but she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Porter was treated for his leg injury and cleared for booking into the downtown Riverside jail.

The defendant had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

—City News Service