A 34-year-old man has been charged with murder in California after prosecutors alleged he poisoned his cancer-stricken foster mother with fentanyl and buried her on her own land. Cedric Von Ferdinand is accused of killing Nadine Jett, a retired attorney, for financial gain. San Diego County prosecutors announced the murder charge against Von Ferdinand on Wednesday 21 October 2026. He has not yet entered a plea.

Toxicology Results Prompted the Murder Count

Nadine Jett, 65, was battling pancreatic cancer when she vanished. Her body was found in July 2025, about 30 yards from her Valley Center home. A medical examiner ruled her death a homicide caused by acute fentanyl toxicity. Von Ferdinand faces first-degree murder with two special-circumstance allegations: poisoning and financial gain.

District Attorney Summer Stephan said a toxicology report returned in April this year made investigators look again. The toxicology results reportedly showed acetylfentanyl in Jett's system, a compound that Stephan said is commonly found in illicitly manufactured rather than pharmaceutical-grade fentanyl.

Stephan said the amount found would have caused an overdose, which prosecutors cited in support of the special-circumstance allegation of murder by poison. Prosecutors have not said how it was administered.

Stephan described Jett as an excellent Los Angeles County attorney. Von Ferdinand was arrested on Tuesday 20 October 2026 in Los Angeles County. Prosecutors allege Jett was killed between 14 and 17 January 2024, and that prosecutors allege he arranged for someone to dig a hole on 16 January 2024 on the property. Her body, wrapped in a bedsheet, was found there in July 2025.

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Alleged Fraud Scheme Targeted Properties and Identity

Von Ferdinand was already facing dozens of felony charges, including grand theft, identity theft and forgery, with losses Stephan put at well over £374,000 ($500,000). Stephan said investigators seized a notary journal linked to quitclaim deeds, in which what was supposed to be Jett's thumbprint was really his. She also said he tried to sell all three properties Jett owned, which raised suspicion.

Prosecutors also allege a woman impersonated Jett to obtain a marriage licence allegedly bearing Jett's identity, signed and notarised after her death. That woman has been charged too. Stephan said investigators found the fake marriage certificate when searching a Gardena condo that Von Ferdinand bought with money he allegedly stole from Jett.

Von Ferdinand allegedly told Jett's foster daughters she had died in Mexico and been cremated, but they reported her missing in June 2024. He also allegedly told a caretaker that Jett had died around 17 January 2024. At a preliminary hearing last year, his defence lawyers argued Jett had willingly transferred her money and properties to him.

Nadine Jett Murder Case Draws Anger From Family

Jett's four foster daughters, the Lucci sisters, last saw her in December 2023, prosecutors said. Bianca Lucci said Jett took them in after they had been in and out of 10 foster homes. Tiffany Lucci addressed the accused directly: 'How dare you do what you did to Nadine'.

Von Ferdinand appeared at Vista Courthouse on Thursday, but the court granted the defence a continuance and he did not enter a plea on the murder charge. His arraignment is now scheduled for 5 November 2026.

He previously pleaded not guilty to the fraud charges, and prosecutors have still not said how they believe the fentanyl was given to Jett. The Nadine Jett murder case remains unproven in court.

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