The Alameda County District Attorney filed charges Wednesday against the man accused of killing Nia Wilson and injuring her sister in a stabbing at an Oakland BART Station.
John Lee Cowell, 27, a recently paroled robber with a violent history, is accused of fatally stabbing Wilson in the neck and wounding her sister in a “prison-style attack” on the platform of the MacArthur BART Station Sunday night.
Police arrested Cowell Monday night at the Pleasant Hill BART Station, about a dozen miles from where the unprovoked attack happened.
The DA has filed a murder and an attempted murder charge against Cowell.
Cowell was expected to be arraigned Wednesday but it has been postponed until August 22.
Authorities haven’t released a motive for the attack but Cowell’s family told KRON in a statement that he has suffered from mental illness “most of his life.”
Wilson’s father was at the courthouse Wednesday demanding justice for this daughter.
“Basically, I think it’s an excuse,” Ansar Muhammad said. “I hate to say that but you know, why would you choose two young black girls, that’s all I want to say.”
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