Suspect In Fatal BART Stabbing Delays Entering Plea
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- A 27-year-old transient delayed entering a plea Wednesday afternoon as he appeared in court for the first time for the fatal stabbing of 18-year-old Nia Wilson and the stabbing of her sister at the MacArthur BART station on Sunday night.
John Lee Cowell, who was arrested at the Pleasant Hill BART station on Monday evening, faced charges of murder and premeditated attempted murder Wednesday afternoon at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland.
Cowell said very little at his short three-minute hearing at an Oakland courtroom that was packed with Wilson's family members, law enforcement officials and reporters.
Wearing pictures of her daughter around her neck, Alicia Grayson was still deeply in mourning for her 18-year-old daughter.
"I'm just so sad for my baby. That's all I know," said Grayson. "He still gets to breathe, you know?"
Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley called the slaying of Nia Wilson "ruthless, brutal, premeditated" and said her office would seek a life sentence for Cowell.
"It has shaken the community. It has shaken all of us," said O'Malley. "It's a ruthless, horrible crime with just huge, overwhelming tragedy for the family as well as our whole community"
She said her office is investigating this as a possible hate crime, but for now they still don't have a concrete motive for the murder.
"We're still gathering evidence to look at that we always have the opportunity if we find evidence that can prove the hate crime allegation then we'll amend the complaint"
Cowell is scheduled to return to court on August 22 to enter a plea.
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Wilson and Letifah Wilson, her 26-year-old sister, were stabbed at the MacArthur station at 9:36 p.m. Sunday, BART officials said.
BART police Officer Russell Medeiros wrote in a probable cause statement that video surveillance at the MacArthur station shows Cowell "stabbing the two victims and then running off."
Cowell discarded a backpack and his sweatshirt at the parking structure at the station and when officers recovered it they found several items with his name and date of birth, Medeiros wrote.
Prosecutors allege that Cowell was convicted of second-degree robbery in Contra Costa County on Oct. 12, 2016, and of assault with a deadly weapon in Contra Costa County on May 25, 2012.
Cowell's 2016 conviction apparently is from an incident shortly after 5 p.m. on May 27, 2016, in which El Cerrito police say he stole several items from the Lucky Supermarkets store at the El Cerrito Plaza and pulled a replica gun on a security guard who tried to stop him.
Officers then arrested him at the El Cerrito Plaza BART station, police said.
El Cerrito police said that about a month earlier, at 4:27 a.m. on April 26, 2016, officers responded to the Safeway grocery store at 11450 San Pablo Ave. after receiving a report that a habitual shoplifter was outside the store waiting for it to open. They contacted Cowell and he admitted he was on probation.
Police said an officer verified Cowell's probation status and then found drugs in his possession when he searched him. Cowell was booked and then released with a citation.
Grayson said she's dealing with a mixture of emotions, but says one thing is clear to her: BART failed her family and the community.
"BART better do something today. BART better step it up" said Grayson. "That doesn't need to happen to nobody else's child."
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