OAKLAND — The attorney representing a man accused of fatally stabbing Nia Wilson said Thursday she doubts he is mentally competent to stand trial.
John Lee Cowell, 27, is accused of stabbing Wilson,18, in the throat July 22 at the MacArthur BART station platform and attempting to kill her sister. Authorities say Cowell then wiped and dumped the weapon in a construction yard near the station.
In what was supposed to be a plea hearing, Cowell’s attorney Christina Moore told Judge James Cramer she questions his mental competence.
“He’s exhibiting signs of extreme delusion and paranoia..and he’s not able to have conversations about the case,” Moore said.
Cramer continued the case to Dec. 27, at which time he’ll decide whether to assign two court-appointed psychiatrists to evaluate Cowell’s mental competency. Wilson’s family and friends who packed the courtroom, some sitting on the floor, gasped and showed their disgust.
If Cowell is found incompetent to stand trial, criminal proceedings could be suspended until he regains his competency. Typically, defendants found incompetent are sent to a state hospital for mental health treatment.
Wilson’s mother, Alicia Grayson, told reporters outside the courtroom Thursday morning she does not believe Cowell is crazy.
“He know how to behave himself. If he was crazy, he wouldn’t know how to behave,” she said.
Cowell could face the death penalty because of the special circumstance enhancement of lying in wait that the district attorney’s office added later to his list of charges. Other charges besides murder include attempted murder and use of a deadly weapon, a knife, which was said to be used in both attacks. District Attorney Nancy O’Malley has not yet announced whether she’ll seek capital punishment.
The Alameda County Public Defender’s Office has made statements about Cowell’s mental health in the past. In an early court hearing, Public Defender Brendon Woods expressed said he’d be concerned if the district attorney’s office seeks death for a man who “has severe, severe mental illness.”
“What we have here is someone who was released by a state hospital just 75 days before this incident,” Woods said in August. “He suffers from severe mental illness, and that’s why we’re here today.”