A homeless Oakland man is in custody accused of stabbing a beloved mother and United States Postal worker more than 12 times as she was walking home from her night shift.
Wilbert Winchester, 28, was arrested shortly after the vicious attack on Dilma Franks-Spruill, 71, in the early hours of Wednesday. Two days earlier, Winchester was accused of stabbing a 59-year-old woman on an Oakland bus.
He is also the suspect in several other similar metal rod and box cutter attacks that occurred in the same area.
The suspect has a long history of attacking women in public. In 2017, Winchester kicked a 73-year-old woman in the head on a train, resulting in her being hospitalized.
After being charged with assault, he agreed to a plea bargain in 2018 and was sentenced to three years in prison with one year’s time served. He was released in 2020.
The victim, Dilma Franks-Spruill, 71, was stabbed to death in the early hours of Wednesday morning, pictured here with her son
Suspect Wilbert Winchester, his mother said he is a bipolar schizophrenic who often does not take his medication
Now, Alameda County prosecutors have charged Winchester with first-degree murder.
In a heartbreaking interview with KTVU, Franks-Spruill’s son Miles said: “Three houses away. She was almost home, but she won’t come home… Someone came and stabbed her several times.
Describing his mother’s death, he said her throat was cut and she was stabbed more than 12 times.
Miles addressed Winchester in his interview and said: “I wish you peace and I wish you goodbye. you took my best friend You took the last living biological parent I have.’
In a statement, the USPS said the organization is “deeply saddened by the loss of our employee.” We have lost a member of our postal family. Dilma shone with energy, joy and brought light to all who had the pleasure of knowing and working with her. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and staff at this time.’
Franks-Spruill’s partner Welton Jackson, who uses a mobility scooter and is undergoing dialysis, told KTVU that he and the victim have been together for 27 years
In an interview, her son Miles said, “She thought of me first … she thought of me first and made sure I got to work on time.”
According to Miles, his mother was stabbed more than 12 times and her throat was slashed
Franks-Spruill, a Brazilian immigrant, was an 18-year USPS veteran and regularly walked the same route home. Her partner, Welton Jackson, who uses a mobility scooter and is undergoing dialysis, told KTVU he and the victim have been together for 27 years.
The victim and her son were Jackson’s handlers. Miles Spruill told Jackson during the segment, “I hope there’s justice. I hope you find everything you need to heal. I’m not right. I will never be right. I will need some time.’
Miles said in a separate interview with ABC San Francisco, “She put me first … she put me first and made sure I got to work on time.”
He added: “My mum was a tough cookie, let me tell you! She was 5’2″ tall and packs a punch, didn’t take a mess – my best friend.”
The Oakland Police Department said in a statement that Winchester has so far said he is innocent of Franks-Spruill’s murder.
The Oakland Police Department said in a statement that Winchester has so far said he is innocent of Franks-Spruill’s murder
Back in 2017, Winchester’s mother, Felicia Cole, told KRON that her son was diagnosed with bipolar schizophrenia and is not taking his medication. At the time, Cole said her son had recently started living on the streets.
She also said that her son has been in jail on and off since he was 18.
Speaking about her son’s 73-year-old sacrifice at the time, Cole said: “I’m sorry, that’s all I can say is I’m sorry because this is my son and I know he is was actually there in his right mind he wouldn’t have done that to her.”
She told the broadcaster: “Something needs to be done but listening to the news it seems like my son is a terrible person and he is not.”
Across Oakland Bay, crime in San Francisco rose four percent in 2022 despite recalling leftist reformed district attorney Chesa Boudin earlier in the year.
Theft and robbery are up 4.9 and 9 percent, respectively, according to the city’s crime dashboard. San Francisco police did not comment on the break-in.
A mass exodus has been taking place in the city since the 2020 pandemic, and many office spaces have been abandoned.
That means the city’s streets are becoming increasingly dangerous as many locals avoid the downtown sidewalks for fear of a violent encounter with one of the many tramps and drug addicts who have taken over.
Brooke Jenkins, the city’s district attorney, has vowed to take a tougher stance on so-called quality of life crimes like theft and public drug use.
The city’s Castro Merchants Association, which represents about 125 businesses, meanwhile sent a letter to the city government in August threatening to withhold tax payments if the city didn’t get the problem of homelessness under control.
Other metropolitan areas topping the list were other Democrat-run places like Portland and Washington, DC, both of which have struggled with similar increases in homelessness and violence.