A San Francisco man was convicted today of second degree murder and attempted murder for the stabbing of his father and stepmother in 2009, District Attorney George Gascon announced today.
Levit Chavez Jr., 29, was convicted by a jury of second degree murder in the death of his father and premeditated, deliberate attempted murder with enhancements for the use of a knife and great bodily injury in the attack on his stepmother, prosecutors said.
Chavez was convicted in part on the strength of testimony from his younger brother, who was 8 years old when the attacks occurred in San Francisco’s Bayview District on May 24, 2009.
The boy testified that Levit Chavez Sr., 49, responded to the screams of his wife, the defendant’s stepmother, and tried to protect her from his son, prosecutors said.
He was stabbed 15 times in the torso, neck and eye, prosecutors said.
The younger Chavez then followed his stepmother into his brother’s bedroom and stabbed her repeatedly in the face, stomach and leg while the younger boy watched, prosecutors said.
The elder Chavez was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife was taken to San Francisco General Hospital with extensive, life-threatening injuries, but survived.
Police said at the time of the murder that the defendant did not live with the couple but resided elsewhere in San Francisco.
He reportedly left the home after the stabbing and was found at a Walgreens store several blocks away, after someone at the store reported him acting suspiciously, police said.
The elder Chavez was a maintenance worker employed at Muni for 30 years.
His son faces a sentence of 27 years to life in state prison, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 19 in Dept. 16 of San Francisco Superior Court, prosecutors said.
