NORFOLK, Va. — A jury convicted 40-year-old Tiran Lyndell Wilson of second degree murder for fatally stabbing 46-year-old Marcos Adan Mata-Monjaras in 2022 on Wednesday.
On the evening of Sept. 2, 2022, Mata-Monjaras and his wife were on the beach behind the Best Western hotel at 1330 E. Ocean View Avenue, where they had just arrived from the Richmond area for a stay.
The couple was night fishing alone on the beach when Wilson suddenly approached them with a large knife, according to the Commonwealth's Attorney.
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Man dead following stabbing in Ocean View
The Commonwealth's Attorney said Mata-Monjaras told his wife to walk ahead of him back towards the hotel because he was fearful of Wilson, then for unknown reasons but with no justification, Wilson stabbed Mata-Monjaras in his chest.
Mata-Monjaras then called out to his wife who turned around to see him on the ground and Wilson running away. Mata-Monjaras died at the scene from a single stab wound that severed his pulmonary artery.
Wilson lived in an apartment nearby, and the Commonwealth's Attorney said surveillance video from the hotel showed him walking around that evening with a large knife.
Norfolk police arrested Wilson at his apartment and seized the clothing that he had been wearing at the time of the stabbing, but they were unable to find the murder weapon.
After about four hours of deliberation, a jury found Wilson guilty as charged for second degree murder. Wilson will be sentenced on June 21.
"All Mr. Mata-Monjaras and his family came to Norfolk to do was to enjoy time with one another. Mr. Mata-Monjaras did not deserve to die so senselessly at Mr. Wilson's hands," said Commonwealth's Attorney Ramin Fatehi. "We may never know why Mr. Wilson killed the victim, but we have held Mr. Wilson accountable for taking an innocent life. We will now seek a sentence that fits this crime."
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