A Stockton man convicted of killing his girlfriend, stuffing her body inside a suitcase and later attacking her mother has been sentenced to 174 years to life in state prison, the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office announced in a press release.
D’Angelo Webb was convicted in November 2024 of first-degree murder in the 2021 killing of Brandi Hornsby, 24, who had given birth to the couple’s daughter about six weeks before her death.
A jury also found Webb guilty of attempted murder, corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant, unlawful taking or driving of a vehicle and child endangerment. Several of the charges included enhancements for use of a knife or causing great bodily injury, according to the DA’s Office.
Hornsby was strangled and stabbed more than 30 times before her body was placed inside a suitcase in the kitchen of her Stockton home, authorities previously said.
Family members became concerned after they were unable to reach Hornsby for several days. Her mother, Tonya Wilkerson, eventually went to Hornsby’s home with her son to check on her.
According to prosecutors, Webb attacked Wilkerson after she arrived, pulling her toward the garage and repeatedly stabbing her. He also stomped on her head.
Hornsby’s brother arrived during the attack and heard his mother crying inside the garage. He forced his way into the home and encountered Webb holding a knife, prosecutors said.
Inside, Hornsby and Webb’s 6-week-old daughter was crying on a couch.
Webb grabbed the infant and fled in Wilkerson’s vehicle. The baby was later located after an Amber Alert was issued, and Webb was arrested following a standoff with law enforcement in the Bay Area.
The District Attorney’s Office said Wilkerson suffered multiple stab wounds to her neck and arms, along with other significant injuries, but survived the attack.
Family members discovered Hornsby’s body inside a suitcase in the kitchen. Authorities previously said Hornsby had been dead for at least three days by the time her family found her.
A jury found Webb guilty on Nov. 22, 2024, following a trial before San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Charlotte Orcutt. At the time, no sentencing date had been announced.
District Attorney Ron Freitas said the sentence ensures Webb will spend the rest of his life in prison. He also credited Deputy District Attorney Janet Smith with successfully prosecuting the case and pursuing justice for Hornsby, her family and the surviving victims.
“The defendant committed a horrific and calculated act of violence that took the life of a young mother and left her family to endure unimaginable pain,” Freitas said in a statement.