MATTHEW CECCHI - 9 yo (1998) - Oroville/ Sacramento CA

Brandon Wilson, a man on death row for killing a 9-year-old boy
in an Oceanside Harbor public restroom 13 years ago, was found dead
Thursday, hanging in his cell at San Quentin State Prison, authorities said.

Wilson, 33, was pronounced dead at 6:47 a.m., according to a
statement from the California Department of Corrections.
He was alone in his single-person cell, a spokeswoman said.

No other details were released Thursday about Wilson's death.

Wilson, a transient from St. Croix Falls, Wis., had been
sentenced to death for the Nov. 14, 1998, murder of 9-year-old
Matthew Cecchi. He admitted in court he had slit the boy's throat with a hunting knife.

During his trial, he had asked the jury to "execute me."
Wilson was also serving a sentence of life in prison for the
attempted murder of a woman he had stabbed in Los Angeles.

The boy's slaying drew an outpouring of grief and support from
North County residents and, later, the creation of the Matthew
Cecchi Public Safety Act, which allows for unisex, family restrooms
in public parks and campgrounds in San Diego County.

Past newspaper reports pieced together details about the boy's
murder using court testimony and documents, including information from Wilson's confession.

The murder

Wilson was 20 at the time, a drifter who had traveled to San
Diego County. He was camping in Borrego Springs when he felt "the
time had come to kill a person," according to a confession
statement read in court in February 1999.

He decided Oceanside would be his hunting ground.

Matthew, 9, was on a family reunion trip with his mother and
3-year-old brother from Oroville, a small town north of Sacramento.
They had rented a motor home and were spending the night visiting
with relatives at an Oceanside Harbor campsite in the 1400 block of North Pacific Street.

The boy went into the public bathroom about 60 feet away from
the campsite while his aunt waited outside for him.

Wilson had been watching Matthew since he spotted the child near
a play structure.

When the boy went into the bathroom, Wilson saw his chance.
Wilson walked into the men's room behind him.

Matthew was standing in front of a urinal. He looked at Wilson.
Wilson smiled.
The boy looked away, and Wilson grabbed him from behind,
slashing his throat with a hunting knife.

The aunt noticed a young man leaving the bathroom, but soon grew
concerned when Matthew didn't come out.
She went in and found her nephew, covered in blood.
Matthew bled to death on the bathroom floor.

Wilson spent the night at a nearby hotel in Oceanside.

Wilson arrested in Los Angeles

Police immediately began a search for the killer, but they were
armed with only a vague description of a young man, maybe 16 years
old, about 5 feet 3 inches tall (Wilson was four years older and 4 inches taller).

The case broke two days later, after Los Angeles police arrested
Wilson in the stabbing of a woman in Hollywood.

Wilson stabbed the garment worker who was on her way to work,
but let her run away, according to reports.

He then chased her down and stabbed her several more times until
her co-workers pulled him off of her and held him at bay, authorities said.

Once in custody, he suddenly started telling detectives about
the murder of Matthew Cecchi. Los Angeles police contacted authorities in Oceanside.

Oceanside detectives brought him back to their station for
questioning and arrested him. He was charged with murder, with a
special circumstances of lying in wait and using a knife.

'I'm guilty'

At his arraignment, usually a first court appearance where
defendants rarely say more than "yes" or "no," Wilson declared he had to have his say.

A Vista courthouse judge asked a routine question about delaying
Wilson's next court appearance to make sure the attorneys had time to prepare.

"I'm guilty. I want to talk for myself," he said, as a public
defender tried to quiet him. "I did it. I killed him.

"I want to do it as soon as possible. ... I don't need an
attorney. ... I'm competent to stand trial without an attorney," he said.
The public defender entered a not-guilty plea, and at a later
hearing, Wilson pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
Wilson claimed God had ordered him to kill Matthew.
At one point, Wilson took the stand and urged jurors to execute him.
With their verdict, they obliged. Wilson had been in San Quentin State Prison since 1999.
Although the exact status of Wilson's execution was unclear
Thursday afternoon, a previous North County Times story said the
opening briefs in his mandatory death sentence appeal still hadn't been filed as of last year.

Read more: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/oceanside/oceanside-convicted-child-killer-commits-suicide-in-prison/article_e85fabfe-69b8-5892-89d0-e6dd3cdfb9be.html#ixzz1e3TZ355T