Arroyo Grande man sentenced to 8 years to life in prison for pouring hot oil on mother

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. – An Arroyo Grande man who who stabbed his adoptive mother in the back and poured boiling oil on her will spend the next several years in state prison.

Matthew Leroy Ehens, 38, was arrested in 2019 on suspicion of attempted murder.

According to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office, Ehens poured a pot of boiling peanut oil on his 79-year-old adoptive mother and stabbed her in the back with a large kitchen knife during an argument.

He fled the area in his vehicle and was eventually arrested after leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase that ended when Ehens crashed his vehicle.

Ehens' adoptive mother suffered serious burns to 17% of her body, landing her in the hospital for more than a month while she received a skin graft and healed.

He will spend the next eight years in state prison with the possibility of spending the rest of his life incarcerated for felony convictions of torture and elder abuse.

"This life sentence is appropriate considering the unimaginable pain the defendant inflicted upon this courageous elder adult survivor who loved and raised him," said San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow in a news release. "Our community will not tolerate elder abuse. I encourage those who suffer from or witness elder abuse to report these crimes to law enforcement."

The case was investigated by the Arroyo Grande Police Department and the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office.