STOCKTON, Calif. — The San Joaquin County Coroner's Office has identified a homeless woman found brutally killed Sunday morning.
She was identified as 43-year-old Vickie Astrid Marie Williams of Stockton.
Stockton Police say Williams was found by someone around 10 a.m. Sunday in the area of American Street underneath Highway 4, otherwise known as the Stockton Crosstown Freeway.
Police say the woman was assaulted and became unconscious on the way to the hospital and then died. A doctor discovered a gunshot wound on the woman's body.
Hearing of the woman killed has 53-year-old Tonya Johnson, homeless herself, on guard.
"I think I got to be more careful, ya know?," said Johnson.
Johnson lives along South Stanislaus Street in a homeless encampment on a large vacant, muddy lot, filled with tents and makeshift shelters.
"I don't want to be out here, but this is the next safest place that I felt that I know people," she said.
Stockton Police say they have continued to have additional patrol officers on different patrol shifts ever since the serial killings came to light.
"It's a real tragedy and the first thing that comes to my mind is just how vulnerable people are when people are experiencing homelessness," says Jon Mendelson, executive director for Central Valley Low Income Housing.
He says providing more housing for the homeless is what is needed to give safety and well being to those who are vulnerable.
"When tragic occurrences like this happen, I think it just makes it more imperative that we do what we can to provide everybody for real housing and safety," said Mendelson.
The City of Stockton had plans to build a new, low-barrier homeless shelter, but plans were scrapped recently when a suitable location could not be found.
Still, the Stockton Shelter for the Homeless is building a new navigation center that will add beds and expand services. Construction on the $5 million project began in June. It's scheduled to be completed this upcoming January.
In the meantime, homeless like Tonya Johnson have goals for a new life that includes giving back.
"My thing in life is to get my own place and come and help them. That's what I want to do," she said.
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