A Northern California man was sentenced to life without parole plus one year in prison for the January 2022 stabbing death of his estranged wife in Spring Valley, according to the San Diego County District Attorney's Office.

Kandynn Wilson, 34, was found guilty in December of first-degree murder with a lying-in-wait special circumstance in the killing of Ericka J. Wilson, 29, his wife of six years and mother of their child. Prosecutors said Wilson drove from Oakland to San Diego County, waited at what he thought was her workplace, then waited in her apartment complex parking lot before attacking her close to midnight.

District Attorney Summer Stephan said the case showed the danger of intimate partner violence and the need to hold abusers accountable. Prosecutors said Wilson stabbed Ericka Wilson 23 times in the neck; a neighbor chased him away, and he was found hours later covered in her blood.

The case carries local weight across East County because the killing happened in Spring Valley and was handled through the regional criminal justice system serving communities including Santee. Domestic violence cases often cross city lines, and officials continue to urge victims and families to seek help before threats escalate.