Man guilty of murder, faces life in prison for 2020 stabbing on Sacramento bike trail
A jury last week found a man guilty of first-degree murder in an early 2020 stabbing on the American River bicycle trail in Sacramento. The defendant faces life in prison.
Steven Wilson, 35, was convicted Thursday in the slaying of 45-year-old Lora Hoagland, whose body was found Jan. 27, 2020, along the Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail.
According to a Monday news release from the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, Hoagland encountered Wilson and Wilson’s ex-girlfriend along the bicycle trail on Jan. 26, and Hoagland “appeared to be in distress.”
“Wilson wrapped his jacket around her, carried her off the bike trail and set her down under the railroad overpass,” the news release said. “Without warning, he then pulled out a knife and stabbed Ms. Hoagland in the chest and neck. Ms. Hoagland bled to death at the scene of the crime.”
Wilson’s ex-girlfriend reported the crime to the Sacramento Police Department, and officers recovered a knife containing DNA from both Hoagland and Wilson, according to the DA news release.
Police arrested Wilson within two days of Hoagland’s body being found. He was in possession of the bloody jacket that he wrapped around her at the time of his arrest, the news release said.
A jury returned the guilty verdict last Thursday.
Wilson faces a maximum sentence of 61 years to life in prison, according to the district attorney. His sentencing is set for April 9.
