Victim remembered; homicide suspect in fatal Ward 86 stabbing in psych ward, public defender says

The suspect in the fatal stabbing at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center's famed HIV/AIDS ward last week was unable to appear in court December 9, one day after he was charged with homicide by San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins.

Meanwhile, the community is reacting to the identification of the victim, a gay, married UCSF social worker who succumbed to his injuries December 6.

Wilfredo Tortolero Arriechi, 34, of San Francisco was expected to be arraigned Tuesday at Department 19 of the Hall of Justice, 850 Bryant Street, but he did not appear. Instead, Judge Harry Dorfman appointed Deputy Public Defender Sylvia Nguyen to represent him. Nguyen disclosed he is in a psychiatric ward at the hospital, and said simply, “He’s unable to come today.” 

Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, Nguyen wouldn’t say if her client was injured, but did say she had yet to meet with him. 

“I want to take a moment to recognize a life was lost,” she said, referring to the victim, 51-year-old Alberto Rangel. “I want to give my condolences to the victim and his family, his friends and his colleagues."

Assistant District Attorney Edward Mario appeared on behalf of the prosecution, and had no comment after the hearing. (The DA’s office didn’t return a request for comment by press time Tuesday.) He moved that Tortolero Arriechi be kept in custody, which Dorfman agreed to, pending Tortolero Arriechi’s appearance. Dorfman ruled Tortolero Arriechi be present in court December 16 – or sooner if Nguyen receives information he can appear earlier than that date.

Victim remembered
Rangel is being remembered as a beloved support group leader for people living with HIV. Longtime gay Castro resident and artist Harry Breaux, who is living with HIV, told the Bay Area Reporter that Rangel led a Friday support group he was a part of.

“The end of October was the last meeting till the beginning of December,” Breaux, 80, said in a phone interview. Rangel took November off to take a foreign trip.

“He made my Friday afternoons a high point,” Breaux said. “He was always lively, considerate, respectful and joyful, in my opinion.”

Breaux said that he joined what was by-and-large an in-person support group via Zoom. 

“I kept quiet but he’d say, ‘Harry, we haven’t heard from you yet,’” Breaux recalled. “Always considerate, always caring.”

Breaux recalled how he felt when he learned Rangel was the victim in this case.

“It was just really hard,” he said. “If he had been killed in a car crash, or from a parachute accident … but this was a horrible, horrible, horrible incident, and horrible negligence on the part of the systems we rely upon to protect us.”

Another friend, drag artist Juanita MORE!, noted that Rangel “performed at the Great American Music Hall during a benefit for the old Tenderloin AIDS Resource Center I organized” in 2002.

“His smile could light up a room,” MORE! noted. “The show was titled ‘Tenderloin Rendezvous,’ and he was a backup dancer in one of the numbers. … My condolences go out to his family, friends, and co-workers, who are all devastated and angry about what could have been a preventable situation had proper security been in place.”

A GoFundMehas been set up for Rangel by Dr. Monica Gandhi. At publication, it has raised nearly $106,000.  

Rangel was a trained therapist who worked with victims of trauma, depression, and anxiety, specializing in treating LGBTQ and other minority groups, according to his website. He also assisted clients from Latin America, Mongolia, and Eritrea with asylum applications to the United States. The GoFundMe page describes him as “a beloved spouse, brother, social worker, friend and human.”

Attack at hospital
As the B.A.R. previously reported, a male patient of Ward 86 was at the hospital for a scheduled appointment, when, at 1:30 p.m. December 4, additional security was called after a doctor received threats.

“While providing security for the doctor, our sheriff’s deputy heard a disturbance unfolding in the hallway involving the suspect, who was attacking a social worker,” a news release from the San Francisco Sheriff’s office stated. “The deputy intervened immediately, restraining the suspect and securing the scene.”

San Francisco police issued a subsequent news release identifying the suspect. Tortolero Arriechi was booked into San Francisco County Jail for attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, mayhem, and being armed during the commission of a felony, according to police.

On December 6, police announced that “despite the lifesaving efforts of medical staff, the victim was declared deceased at the hospital on December 6, 2025.”

The police department’s homicide detail took over the investigation from there and on December 8, Jenkins announced an added homicide charge.

Rangel (initially misidentified in the sheriff’s news release as 31 years old) was remembered by colleagues as someone who “treated everyone with love and absolute care,” as Maddy Auble, a colleague and mentee, described him to KTVU-TV.  

Auble also said that they knew Tortolero Arriechi “was aggressive.” The deputy who’d been called after the doctor was threatened was petting a dog rather than watching the suspect, Mission Local reported.  

The incident also came after the San Francisco Standard reported in October about widespread safety concerns. There was no weapons detection system in place at the outpatient clinics at the hospital, despite those past safety concerns. 

The San Francisco Department of Public Health pledged an investigation.

“Keeping our staff, patients, and community safe is our highest priority. DPH and the hospital have already taken steps like adding more security, limiting access points, and speeding up the installation of weapons detection systems,” a DPH spokesperson stated. “We are also conducting a full investigation and are committed to making both immediate and long-term safety improvements at all our facilities.”

The spokesperson continued that, “This tragedy has deeply impacted our workforce. We have witnessed an extraordinary outpouring of love and kindness from staff, patients, and community members. Hundreds of people have come forward over the past several days to offer support, reflecting the profound impact our colleague had as a caregiver, friend, family member, and human being. Their dedication to serving others was evident in every aspect of their work, and they will be deeply missed.”

Gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) called Rangel “a beloved social worker at San Francisco General Hospital & member of our city’s LGBTQ community.”

“His murder is appalling & raises huge questions about the safety of health care workers at our city clinics. The folks who care for us should not have to go to work fearing violence,” Wiener stated. “The city must take steps to prevent future tragedies like Alberto’s murder. And the man who brutally murdered him must be held fully accountable.”

Gary McCoy, a gay man who is living with HIV and is running to succeed Rafael Mandelman as District 8 supervisor, representing the LGBTQ Castro neighborhood, stated via Facebook, “It is truly devastating to hear about the tragic loss of an essential member of our community. A dedicated and passionate social worker was taken from us at SF General’s Ward 86, the place I was cared for by our city’s best, brightest, and most devoted health care providers for many years.”

McCoy continued, “I commend, and fully support, UPTECWA [the union of professional and technical employees at the University of California] organizing around improving safety conditions for nurses, doctors, social workers, and administrators at Ward 86. Everyone deserves to feel safe and without worry of incidents like this, especially at their place of work. I’m echoing calls for a full investigation into how this tragic event was able to unfold, and the implementation of real changes to safety measures in accordance with staff and union demands.”

UPTE President Dan Russell reiterated, “UPTE members have been on the front lines sounding the alarm about critical safety issues at San Francisco General Hospital for years. Workers have been assaulted, traumatized, and forced to deal with unsafe working conditions for far too long.”

Russell urged officials at all levels to address the concerns his members have raised, continuing, “We demand a full investigation and reliable, consistent, and transparent safety protocols that ensure every worker comes home safely at the end of their shift. We demand that city, county, hospital, and UC leadership finally address the rampant understaffing and unjust hiring practices that put workers in danger and hinder both the city and workers’ efforts to address the mental health crisis on our streets. We owe our colleague and friend more than grief. We owe them change, and will fight for it with everything we have.”

He concluded, “Our hearts, thoughts, and support are with the victim’s family, friends, co-workers, and everyone affected by this tragedy.”