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Man charged in fatal stabbing of Florida woman, 70, walking her dog

April 4, 2026 | | Print Article

A large, 25-year-old South Florida brute randomly stabbed an elderly woman to death as she was walking her dog on Thursday.

When officers with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office responded that afternoon to multiple reports of a woman being stabbed, they found suspect Kersten Francilus still allegedly stabbing a 70-year-old female victim.

“The deputy got out of their patrol car and pulled their gun. The suspect then stopped attacking the woman, stretched himself on the ground, and dropped the weapon,” according to station WPBF.

According to reports, Francilus had previously knocked on several doors to inquire about the location of a new bank (that doesn’t actually exist). Moments later, he approached the victim and reportedly stabbed her 16 times.

When asked to identify the victim, he told investigators she was Jewish. Despite this, the police maintain the attack was random.

“Investigators say the attack was random,” the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post published to Facebook.

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Martin County Sheriff’s Detectives have charged 25-year-old Kersten Francilus with murder following the vicious,…

Posted by Martin County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, April 2, 2026

Francilus is now being held without bond on a first-degree premeditated murder charge.

During a press conference, Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said calls started coming in when Francilus began asking about the non-existent bank.

“We receive multiple calls in this community,” he said. “The Southwood community, which is a quiet, higher-end community here in Martin County. Multiple calls of a suspicious male walking door to door and interacting with different people.”

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“He asked several times, several different people, where the new bank was. There’s no bank around here,” the sheriff added.

Francilus was reportedly calm during these encounters.

Budensiek also revealed that a good Samaritan tried to stop the suspect but was unsuccessful.

Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek provides an update to the vicious random attack and stabbing of a woman in the South Wood Community.

Posted by Martin County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, April 2, 2026

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The victim, whose name hasn’t been released, died at a nearby hospital.

“This was a violent, vile homicide,” Budensiek said. “At this point, this appears like an extremely violent, random act of violence.”

It was the third random attack on a woman in South Florida in months.

On Dec. 22, Antonio R. Moore, 40, randomly stabbed Rita B. Loncharich, 65, to death inside a Barnes and Noble bookstore in Palm Beach. The victim died at a nearby hospital shortly thereafter.

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“Moore admitted to not knowing the victim and said that it was an unmotivated attack,” according to WPBF. “Moore told officers that it was an ‘internal build-up that led to his fight or flight response kicking in,’ and Loncharich was the closest person to him.”

Weeks later, on Feb. 12, a woman was walking alone by Tiger Shores Beach when suspect Said Alexander Hernandez-Gonzalez allegedly hit her from behind, grabbed her throat, dragged her to the beach, and held her head underwater. Somehow she survived.

“Gonzalez was arrested a few days later,” WPBF notes. “Deputies said he could not explain why he attacked the victim, but that he only stopped the attack once he thought the victim was dead. Budensiek said deputies told Hernandez Gonzalez the victim was still alive and asked if he felt remorse, and he replied: ‘No, I don’t feel nothing.'”

Vivek Saxena
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