Man Accused in Palm Springs Fatal Stabbing Re-Enters Not Guilty Pleas

INDIO (CNS) – A 65-year-old man accused in the fatal stabbing of a woman in Palm Springs re-entered not guilty pleas to felony charges Monday. Miguel Hernandez Toscano is facing one felony count of murder and one misdemeanor court of willful cruelty to a child, according to court records. He also faces a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon. He re-entered not guilty pleas to the charges Monday morning at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, according to court records. He initially pleaded not guilty to the charges on March 7, 2022, when he also faced two felony counts of willful child cruelty. At the end of a preliminary hearing March 10 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, Riverside County Superior Court Judge James Stafford Hawkins discharged the two counts and found that there was sufficient evidence to hold Toscano to answer to the remaining charges and allegation. Officers responded to the 1700 block of East Arenas Road at around 9:50 p.m. March 1, 2022 to a report of a stabbing, according to the Palm Springs Police Department. Police said that Ernestina Oropeza, 48, was found at the scene suffering from stab wounds and succumbed to her injuries at the scene. Toscano was detained later that same night and was booked into the John Benoit Detention Center, where he remains held on $1 million bail. He has no prior felony convictions in Riverside County. Copyright 2023, City News Service, Inc.