Deputies said a suspicious-person call became a murder investigation within minutes.

STUART, Fla. — A 25-year-old man was charged with first-degree premeditated murder after authorities said he killed a 73-year-old woman walking her dog in the Southwood community on April 2.

Martin County investigators said the case began as a report of a man knocking on doors and asking residents about a bank that did not exist nearby. It ended with Joyce Ellen Thompson Adams dead, Kersten Moses Francilus in custody and detectives trying to explain what Sheriff John Budensiek called a random and extremely violent attack.

The first calls reached 911 shortly before 4 p.m., when Southwood residents reported a man walking from home to home and asking where the new bank was located. Budensiek said there was no bank in that part of the neighborhood, near Southeast Salerno Road and Kanner Highway. The man did not appear aggressive at first, the sheriff said, but callers believed the behavior was unusual enough to report. Deputies were sent to check the suspicious-person calls before anyone reported a stabbing. Budensiek said residents gave dispatchers information that helped place a deputy near the scene before the attack turned deadly.

One resident later told investigators that Francilus knocked on the door, asked about the bank and tried to step inside after the door opened, according to details authorities attributed to the arrest affidavit. The resident shut the door, and the man moved on. Other neighbors reported similar contact. The sheriff said the people who encountered him included children and older residents, but there was no early report that he had shown a knife or threatened anyone. “We get these calls all the time,” Budensiek said while describing suspicious-person reports, adding that this call changed suddenly and violently.

The emergency shifted when additional calls reported that a woman was being attacked in a cul-de-sac. Adams had been walking a small dog close to her home when she was knocked down, officials said. A civilian tried to intervene before law enforcement reached the scene, but Budensiek said the person could not stop the attacker. A responding deputy arrived and saw a man on top of Adams. The deputy drew his firearm and ordered him to stop. Francilus dropped the knife, lay on the ground and was taken into custody at the scene, according to the sheriff’s office.

An off-duty deputy who lived nearby also responded and helped provide aid while emergency crews were called. Adams was taken to Cleveland Clinic Martin Health South, where she was pronounced dead. Early public statements said she appeared to have 16 or 17 wounds, and prosecutors later said in court that she had been stabbed more than 16 times. A later account from investigators said authorities believed the number of stab wounds was more than 50 after further review. The weapon was described as a serrated kitchen or steak knife that authorities said appeared to have come from Francilus’ home.

Francilus lived in a nearby community with family members, including his mother, wife and child, Budensiek said. Authorities said they did not find a known relationship between him and Adams. The sheriff also said Francilus had no known criminal history, though deputies had previously responded to his home for a report that he was acting strangely. Investigators interviewed family members after the arrest. One account from the affidavit said his mother told deputies he had not been taking prescribed medication. Authorities did not announce a medical conclusion or say that any health issue legally explained the attack.

The affidavit gave detectives a direct statement they said Francilus made after the arrest. He allegedly told deputies that he left his residence, went around the neighborhood, found a woman and killed her. Prosecutors also said in court that when he was asked to describe Adams, he described her only as Jewish. Adams’ family disputed any suggestion that the comment reflected her identity, with one local report saying her daughter said there was nothing connecting her mother to Judaism. Officials did not announce a hate-crime charge, and the motive remained unclear.

The case moved quickly into court. Francilus appeared before a judge on a first-degree premeditated murder charge and was ordered held without bond. Reports from the hearing said he refused a public defender. Prosecutors relied on the seriousness of the charge, the alleged statements and the circumstances of the arrest as the case entered its first stage. Detectives also sought warrants to search his home and electronic devices for evidence that could explain where he went, what he did before the door knocks and whether the attack was planned.

Southwood residents were left with a scene that began in an ordinary neighborhood setting. The community is known for single-family homes, quiet streets and routine dog walks, Budensiek said. He credited callers who reported the suspicious behavior before the stabbing began. Still, he said the first reports did not show that a homicide was about to occur. The sheriff called the killing a “violent, violent homicide” and said investigators had found no reason Adams would have expected to be targeted during a short walk near her home.

The investigation remained active as deputies reviewed 911 calls, body-camera footage, dash-camera footage, witness statements and forensic evidence from the knife and scene. Court filings are expected to shape the next public steps in the case. Francilus remained jailed without bond while prosecutors pursued the murder charge.

Author note: Last updated April 27, 2026.