A California man, Cedric von Ferdinand, 34, has pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder of his 65-year-old foster mother, Nadine Jett, whom he allegedly poisoned with fentanyl and buried on her property in an attempt to inherit her substantial estate. Von Ferdinand entered his plea on Thursday at the Vista Courthouse.
Prosecutors allege that von Ferdinand, who moved in with Jett in August 2023 after her pancreatic cancer diagnosis, plotted to take control of her assets. He is accused of administering a lethal dose of fentanyl to Jett in January 2024, shortly after she was last seen leaving for a chemotherapy appointment. Her body was discovered on July 16, 2025, buried on her 20-acre ranch in Valley Center.
According to the San Diego County District Attorney, Summer Stephan, von Ferdinand may have attempted to cover up the crime by falsely claiming Jett had died in Mexico and enlisted another woman, Kimberley Pifer, to pose as Jett to obtain a marriage license. Pifer has also pleaded not guilty to forgery and identity theft charges related to this alleged scheme.
Suspicion arose when von Ferdinand was unable to produce a death certificate for Jett, who was reported missing by her family in June 2024. Further concerns were raised by suspicious real estate transactions, including deeds transferring Jett's ranch and two investment properties in Los Angeles County to von Ferdinand. He is also accused of purchasing a condo using $500,000 in stolen funds and selling one of Jett's properties for over $200,000.
A real estate agent, Noel Lawton, testified that she met with von Ferdinand in the spring of 2024 when a client wanted to purchase Jett's property for $1 million. Lawton stated that von Ferdinand repeatedly failed to provide Jett's death certificate, which was necessary for title insurance, and that signatures on property documents did not match. The deal ultimately collapsed due to these irregularities.
District Attorney Stephan described the case as one of "deadly greed." Bianca Lucci, one of Jett's foster daughters, told NBC San Diego that she believed the alleged murder "was all out of greed and money and it's just sad." Jett was remembered by her foster children as a maternal figure who "gave us a fair chance at life."
Von Ferdinand has been held without bail since October 20, and is scheduled to return to court on November 16. Raymond Joseph Alto, a notary from Escondido, was also charged with forgery and identity theft alongside von Ferdinand and Pifer.