The criminal proceedings against the white man accused of viciously killing Nia Wilson at a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train station in Oakland, California in July have been suspended.
The judge has temporarily suspended the criminal proceedings, and two doctors will now determine whether John Lee Cowell is mentally capable to stand trial, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Cowell has been accused of viciously stabbing Wilson and her sister Letifah, who survived.
Cowell’s lawyer claimed that he has been suffering from serious mental health issues that made it impossible for him to assist in his own defense, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
“It appears the delusions and paranoia have been increasing in frequency,” defense attorney Christina Moore told Judge James Cramer in an Oakland courtroom earlier this week.
The judge found that there was “substantial evidence that the defendant is incompetent to stand trial.”
The judge and attorneys will discuss the doctors’ findings Feb. 13.
