A judge could decide tomorrow whether a man accused of fatally stabbing his girlfriend and leaving her body in an SUV in a Carlsbad parking lot last fall will stand trial for murder. A preliminary hearing got under way this morning for John Carlo Monta, 29, who is accused in the death of Joanne Javier of San Diego. Monta faces 26 years to life in prison if convicted. The 24-year-old victim was discovered Nov. 9 with a chest wound in an SUV parked at Van Allen Way and Faraday Avenue. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Co-workers said the victim and Monta were having relationship problems and had a 3-year-old son together. Monta had taken a leave of absence from EZ Lube oil change on Genesee Avenue in Clairemont because he was battling cancer, according to a broadcast report. At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, a judge will decide if enough evidence was presented for Monta to proceed to trial.
–City News Service
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