Inset: Ericka Wilson (San Diego County District Attorney's Office). Background: The California parking lot where Ericka Wilson was stabbed 23 times in the neck and killed by her estranged husband Kandynn Wilson (KGTV).
A California man will die behind bars after being sentenced for his estranged wife's murder, with prosecutors saying he "took a vacation day" so he could ambush and butcher her.
Kandynn Wilson, 34, stabbed his former spouse, Ericka Wilson, 23 times in the neck after calling out from work to kill her. He was found guilty by a jury of first-degree murder in December and sentenced this week to life without parole plus one year for the 2022 slaying in Spring Valley. The Wilsons had been married for six years and had a child together before separating.
"This Defendant murdered his estranged wife in cold blood displaying a vicious brutality in lying in wait and stabbing her multiple times," San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a press release announcing Kandynn Wilson's sentencing.
On Jan. 27, 2022, Kandynn Wilson "took a vacation day from work" and drove from Oakland to his estranged wife's place of employment to wait for her to leave her job "so he could ambush her in the parking lot," according to the DA press release. Kandynn Wilson wound up driving to the wrong location, so he then went to Ericka Wilson's apartment complex to wait for her in the parking lot.
"He reclined his seat and waited for her to return from work," the DA press release says. "As Ericka Wilson pulled into the parking area and began to get out of her vehicle, the defendant approached her wearing a ski mask. He grabbed her and carried out a brutal stabbing attack, inflicting 23 wounds to her neck."
Police responded to the apartment complex, located in the 1600 block of Canyon Drive in Spring Valley, "for a report of a woman calling for help," according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office. Ericka Wilson, 29, had called 911 during the attack as she tried to get away from Kandynn Wilson.
"A brave neighbor saw the attack, and chased the defendant with a bat, forcing him to flee on foot and leave behind his vehicle, gloves, and murder weapon," the DA release says.
When police arrived, they found Ericka Wilson bleeding out in the parking lot. "She had obvious traumatic injuries," the sheriff's office said in a Jan. 29, 2022, press release. "Deputies and firefighters conducted lifesaving measures on the woman, but unfortunately she succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene."
Kandynn Wilson was located hours later and arrested at a 7-Eleven just a few blocks away from the scene. According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, there had been multiple incidents of domestic violence while he and Ericka Wilson were together over the years. Prosecutors said in a sentencing brief obtained by the newspaper that Kandynn Wilson planned his wife's murder for months.
First, Kandynn Wilson purchased a gun and planned to shoot Ericka Wilson to death. He drove eight hours from his Oakland residence to Spring Valley to ambush her at the Ross department store where she worked. Ericka Wilson was employed at two different Ross locations, so that's what led to the earlier mix-up.
When police found Kandynn Wilson, he was "covered in Ericka's blood," according to the DA release.
"Intimate partner violence continues to be one of the most common and dangerous forms of violence we confront, and this case is a stark reminder of its devastating impact," DA Stephan said.
A "sympathy message" written on an online memorial page for Ericka Wilson says, "There was & never will be anyone else like her. Ericka was smart and funny and hard working and determined and loyal and I'm so thankful to have known her in the way I did, she will be close to my heart always."