Woman Accused in Mother's Death Argued With Her Often, Witness Says

A neighbor testified today that a Serra Mesa woman accused of killing her mother argued constantly with the 79-year-old victim before she disappeared last September.

Denise Lattizzori took the stand as a preliminary hearing got under way for 42-year-old Ghazal Mansury, who is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Mehria Mansury. The two lived together on Amulet Street.

The victim went missing last Sept. 23. Her body was found nine days later in a remote area east of the Barona Casino & Resort, near Ramona.

Lattizzori, who lived across the street from the Mansurys, said she stop visiting the home after Mehria Mansury's husband died and the defendant moved in.

"I didn't like her," Lattizzori said of the defendant.

The witness said the mother, who kept her house very neat and clean, complained about her daughter's clutter.

"The two of them would argue so often," Lattizzori testified.

San Diego police Officer Daniel McLaughlin testified that in 2011, Mehria Mansury asked for advice on how to get the defendant's boyfriend's car out of her driveway.

McLaughlin said the victim didn't want to antagonize her daughter or her boyfriend.

"She (the mother) had some fear for her physical safety," the officer testified. "She told me she was scared of the boyfriend and/or her daughter."

After the victim's body was found Oct. 2, police took the defendant into custody for questioning.

She was later released, then arrested the next day as she and her boyfriend left a friend's house in City Heights.

The preliminary hearing is set to resume tomorrow. Judge Margie G. Woods will determine if enough evidence was presented to order the defendant to stand trial.

—City News Service