Insanity Plea Made in Slaying of Boy, 9

A Wisconsin drifter and drug abuser Thursday pleaded innocent by reason of insanity to the murder of a 9-year-old boy in an Oceanside beachfront restroom after admitting that he stalked and slashed the child because “the time had come to kill a person.”

Superior Court Judge John Einhorn set March 5 as the starting date of a sanity trial for Brandon Wilson, 20, in the November slaying of Matthew Louis Cecchi. Wilson said he killed Matthew after ambushing him, which could lead to the death penalty if the defendant is found sane.

As half a dozen members of the Cecchi family wept quietly in the front rows, Einhorn read a chilling three-page statement signed by Wilson describing in horrific detail how he followed the Northern California boy, smiled at him “to disarm Matt’s wariness” and then attacked him from behind and slit his throat with a hunting knife.

The dying boy tried to scream for help but, with his vocal cords severed, was unable to make a sound, the statement said.

Wilson had gone to the popular beach Nov. 14 to begin a planned murder rampage and became “angry with himself” for losing his nerve and not killing one of the women he followed earlier that day. Instead he selected Matthew, who was part of a family reunion, as an easier target.

“Wilson did not want to attack Matthew in front of the adults,” said the statement. “Rather, Wilson, after a substantial period of watching and waiting, decided that the opportune moment to kill Matthew would be when Matthew was secluded in the bathroom.”

Wilson was arrested Nov. 16 after knifing a woman on a Hollywood street. He confessed immediately to the Oceanside slaying.

Wilson’s defense attorney, Curt Owen, told reporters he is convinced that his client is insane.

“Anyone who would commit a crime like this must be insane,” Owen said.

Einhorn on Thursday appointed two psychiatrists to examine Wilson in preparation for the trial. If a jury finds him insane, Wilson will be sent to a state mental hospital until it is determined that he is sane and can stand trial again. If jurors finds him sane, they will recommend whether he should be sent to prison without possibility of parole or executed.

Prosecutors will announce in early February whether they will seek the death penalty. The Cecchi family says it wants Wilson executed.

Matthew’s father, Lou, who is undergoing chemotherapy for leukemia, remained in Oroville and told reporters that he expected the insanity defense.

“My biggest worry is that [Wilson] will escape justice,” he said. Acquittal because of “insanity is not justice.”

A shackled Wilson remained silent Thursday except for answering “yes” to the judge’s questions.

A previous psychiatric examination found Wilson competent to stand trial. The standard for competency is whether a defendant understands the charges and can aid in his own defense. The standard for sanity is whether the defendant knew the difference between right and wrong at the time of the crime.

Times correspondent Renee Martin contributed to this story.