MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — A Martin County community is reeling in disbelief after a woman in her 70s was randomly stabbed to death while walking her dog in broad daylight on Thursday.
Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said the suspect, Kersten Moses Francilus, 25, approached the woman in the Southwood neighborhood near Stuart and stabbed her more than 16 times with a steak knife in the middle of the afternoon on Thursday.
WATCH BELOW: Victim of random stabbing attack remembered as 'delightful woman'
Before the attack, deputies received multiple calls about Francilus approaching people.
"The individuals that we've spoken to, and they range from small children to older people, said that he walked up to several front doors, knocked on the doors, and then asked them where the new bank was. There's no bank around here," Budensiek said.
Francilus made his initial court appearance Friday morning and faces a charge of first-degree murder. During the hearing, prosecutors told the judge Francilus admitted to deputies he "killed her" and said the only way he could describe the victim was "that she was Jewish."
"Wow," said neighbor Lori Soo.
"I'm just wondering if it's gonna be a hate crime," added neighbor Peter Burke.
To say the neighborhood is shaken is an understatement. Children and their parents told WPTV on Friday that they watched the stabbing unfold, and neighbors broke down in tears as they told us about losing a dear friend and neighbor.
"A delightful woman," Beth Simone, who knew the victim personally, said. "She dressed adorably. ... It's frightening, and it's heartbreaking. And I think everyone was just praying and praying that she would make it, but that just didn't happen."
Simone lives just down the street from where the stabbing happened, and described seeing a flurry of first responders on Thursday.
"I saw things go flying by and with sirens, so I looked out the door, and then I started seeing ... the fire truck and the ambulance," said Simone. "It's been really hard for all of us."
Burke and Soo were home when the attack happened, and also watched police lights and a helicopter rush to the scene.
"Just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Burke said. "I guess the poor lady ... always walks by here with her dog and (I) feel really bad for the family."
"What if they, he, decided to take another path and just go straight instead of turn right, it could have been anybody on this street," Soo added.
"Just disbelief," Burke said.
"Or, like, surreal, like it's not real, you know," Soo said.
Mia Karr, 25, who walks her dog in the same area, echoed that fear.
"You expect to come home and be safe, and don't think twice about looking around your car when you get out of it," Karr said. "So hearing that it was random like that, was really scary."
She has lived in the neighborhood her whole life, and said she's never had a reason to fear until recently.
"Yeah, my parents want me to carry pepper spray with me, just like, have that safety precaution, because you never know, I guess, even being at home," said Karr.
The Martin County Sheriff's Office is still working to notify the victim's family and has not yet released her name. Neighbors said she was sweet, kind and a joy to everyone in the community.
"I'm still dealing with it. But I just want you ... and everyone to know that this is a great neighborhood, and we take care of our own, we'll be fine," Simone said.
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