A man was sentenced to 174 years to life in state prison in connection with the 2021 San Joaquin County murder of Brandi Hornsby and the attempted murder of her mother, the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.
D’Angelo Dijon Webb, 29, was convicted of the first-degree murder of Hornsby, 24, and the violent attack against her mother Tonya Wilkerson.
Hornsby’s body was found in a suitcase inside a Stockton home in the 3900 block of East Fremont Street, according to the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office.
In November 2024, Webb was found guilty following a trial of first-degree murder with the use of a knife, attempted murder with the use of a knife, and corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant with the use of a knife and great
bodily injury.
He was also found guilty of unlawfully taking or driving a vehicle and child endangerment.
On Sept. 30, 2021, Hornsby met with her sister while she was with Webb. Just six weeks earlier, she had given birth to her daughter.
The following day, Hornsby’s mother attempted to call her daughter but was unable to reach her, according to the district attorney’s office. From Oct. 1 to Oct. 2, 2021, family members continued trying to contact Hornsby, but were unsuccessful.
Hornsby’s mother, who was worried about her daughter's safety, decided to check on her at her daughter's home. Wilkerson asked her son to accompany her, prosecutors said.
The district attorney's office said that when Wilkerson arrived at her daughter's home, she repeatedly knocked on doors. It was not until she broke a window to get inside that Webb answered the door and let her in.
Webb immediately attacked Wilkerson, strangling her until she lost conscious and stabbed her with a knife. Wilkerson was pulled by Webb toward the garage where he repeatedly stabbed the woman and stomped on her head, the DA’s office said.
Minutes later, Wilkerson’s son arrived and could hear his mother crying from inside the garage. Prosecutors said he could see his mother on the ground being assaulted by Webb.
Wilkerson sustained multiple stab wounds, including wounds to her neck and arms, as well as significant injuries from being stomped on.
Wilkerson’s son forced his way into the home, where Webb approached him while holding a knife, according to the district attorney's office.
Webb then grabbed the 6-week-old infant, who had been lying on the couch crying, and fled the scene. He fled in Wilkerson’s vehicle.
While inside the home, family members discovered a suitcase in the kitchen area and noticed the odor of decomposition. Hornsby’s body was found inside the suitcase. An investigation determined she died from strangulation and stab wounds.
Webb eventually left the baby, who was unharmed, at a family member's house. He was later arrested after a five hour standoff in the 40 block of Ambrose Avenue in Bay Point in Contra Costa County.
Record reporter Victoria Franco covers public safety in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at vfranco@gannett.com. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: D’Angelo Webb sentenced to 174 years in prison for 2021 murder of girlfriend
