The foster son of a Los Angeles County attorney has been charged with murder after San Diego County prosecutors accused him of poisoning her to death to gain control of her money and property.
Cedric Von Ferdinand, 34, was charged with first-degree murder, along with two special circumstances of administering poison and financial gain, in the slaying of Nadine Jett, 65, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced at a Wednesday, Oct. 21, news conference.
Prosecutors allege Von Ferdinand moved in to help care for Jett as she underwent cancer treatment, then killed her as part of a scheme to take control of her money and property, including through a forged marriage license.
"(Von Ferdinand's) deadly greed led to this horrific homicide.
He preyed on her in her time of need when she was suffering from cancer. It is quite despicable," Stephan said.
Jett goes missing amid cancer treatment
After Jett, a Los Angeles County family law attorney, was diagnosed with cancer in August 2023 and began chemotherapy, Von Ferdinand moved into her Valley Center home to help care for her, Stephan said.
"Instead, you can see that the plot was beginning," Stephan said.
Von Ferdinand soon told friends and family that Jett was not going to survive and that she wanted to "be cremated without much fanfare," according to Stephan.
"She doesn't even want a service, and that she wants to go to Mexico to potentially seek a second opinion," Stephan said Von Ferdinand told others of his foster mother.
Then, on Jan. 17, 2024, he told a caretaker who was scheduled to come to the home that their services were not needed, as Jett had died, Stephan said. Von Ferdinand told Jett's other foster children that she had died in Mexico and that her body had been cremated.
"But, of course, they began to smell a rat," Stephan said.
When Von Ferdinand could not show the others a death certificate, they reported her missing in June 2024, Stephan said. As concerns grew over Jett's disappearance, her other foster children reported what Stephan described as "suspicious real estate transactions" involving her properties.
Von Ferdinand had done a quitclaim deed to himself for three of Jett's properties, including her Valley Center home and two investment properties in Los Angeles County, according to Stephan.
Parallel investigations began: one into fraud and another into a possible homicide.
Investigators from the district attorney's office seized the notary journal tied to the quitclaim deeds and found that Jett's fingerprint on the deeds was actually Von Ferdinand's, Stephan said.
Von Ferdinand also purchased a $500,000 condo in Gardena using money he's accused of stealing from Jett, Stephan said. In April 2024, Von Ferdinand sold one of Jett's Los Angeles County properties for more than $200,000.
The district attorney's office filed more than 30 counts of real estate and other fraud-related charges against Von Ferdinand in April 2025.
Investigation leads to murder charge
While prosecutors built a fraud case against Von Ferdinand, sheriff's investigators continued searching for evidence to determine what happened to Jett.
Investigators soon learned that on Jan. 16, 2024, Von Ferdinand had "solicited someone to dig a 6-foot by 6-foot hole on the property and had received a response," Stephan said.
By scouring through Jett's medical records, investigators also learned she was due for a CT scan on Jan. 19, 2024, but never showed. Von Ferdinand had also canceled all of her future appointments.
More than a year after Jett was reported missing, investigators found her remains buried in a 6-foot hole on her Valley Center property about 30 yards from the home on July 18, 2025, Stephan said.
"Her body had been wrapped in a bedsheet, and she had a patch that the doctor had given her on Jan. 14, 2024, that was supposed to be taken off in 27 hours," according to Stephan.
After conducting an autopsy and reviewing toxicology results, the medical examiner determined that Jett died from acute fentanyl toxicity and ruled her death a homicide. Investigators believe Jett died sometime between Jan. 14th and Jan. 17.
In August, investigators searched Von Ferdinand's condo in Gardena and found a forged marriage license between himself and Jett, Stephan said. The marriage license, dated May 18, 2024, was obtained with a woman, Kimberley Pifer, posing as Jett. Pifer has also been charged in connection with fraud.
"This is one of the most despicable acts someone can commit against a mother figure who gave the best of herself to someone in need," Stephan said.
Bianca Lucci, one of Jett's foster daughters, told reporters she was grateful for investigators' work on her mother's case. Lucci said Jett welcomed her and her three sisters into her home after they had lived in 10 different foster homes.
"She was that mom we needed. She gave us a fair chance at life. ... I'm glad justice will finally be served," Lucci said.
Von Ferdinand, who was booked into jail Oct. 20 and being held without bail, is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 5, jail records show.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Foster son killed mom with cancer for financial gain, officials say
