Boy’s Killer Asks Jury for Death Penalty

Brandon Wilson testified Monday that he has no regrets about murdering 9-year-old Matthew Cecchi in an oceanfront bathroom, and asked a Superior Court jury to sentence him to death.

“I feel absolutely no remorse for what I’ve done,” said the 21-year-old Wisconsin drifter and drug user. “I would do it again in a second if I got the chance. . . . You should do everything in your power to rid the world of me. Execute me.”

The jury is charged with deciding whether Wilson should die for the ambush stabbing of the Oroville youth or spend his life in prison without the chance of parole.

As several jurors wept, Matthew’s mother, Sharon, tearfully recalled cradling her son as he bled to death and telling him, “Matt, it’s Mom. I’m here. I’m here, baby. I love you.”

She testified that Matthew’s murder has devastated the family: “He was the sunshine of our lives.”

Last week the jury rejected Wilson’s insanity plea, finding him sane when he murdered the boy in a public bathroom in Oceanside.

Wilson testified that during an LSD trip he was told by God to begin a killing rampage. He said that the murders would encourage others to begin killing, thus hastening the end of the world.

Wilson’s mother may testify Tuesday, asking the jury to show mercy for her son. The Wilson family has apologized to the Cecchi family.

If the jury sentences Wilson to death, Judge John Einhorn can either accept the sentence or reduce it.

In the last four years, the San Diego County district attorney has asked juries in 14 murders to invoke the death penalty. In seven cases, the jury agreed; in seven the jury decided instead for the lesser penalty.