Murder of Nia Wilson

Nia Wilson (November 12, 1999 – July 22, 2018) was a cheerleader and a rapper.

She dreamed of having a dance studio.

She and her cousins were in a music group called Girlz N The Hood.

The album Fake Shit was released post-Wilson's death; the group planned to reshoot the video but they did not release it until after she passed.

Fake Shit is now on iTunes.

Wilson was known as being talented with makeup, and was known by the nickname PG (pretty girl).

Nia was the daughter of Ansar El Muhammad and Alicia Grayson.

She is the youngest of six sisters (including Malika Harris, Letifah Wilson, Nishiya Wilson and Tashiya Wilson) and two brothers.

Her cousin, Tijanae Lafleur, 19, has also spoken about Wilson's character and stated they had previously had a conversation on what he should do in the event that someone ever hurt her.

Lafleur told reporters that Wilson told him to not let anyone who hurt her get away with it.

Wilson's other cousin, Byron Brown, stated Wilson would have wanted more than one protest.

He remembers her stating, “justice is never served when black people were killed."

In 2009, Cowell was arrested and charged with felony assault, for beating 51-year-old Shane Glick, and punching Glick's daughter after they confronted him about a recent burglary.

Also, in both Alameda and Contra Costa counties, Cowell's arrest record lists charges of assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a controlled substance, vandalism and petty theft.

In 2013, Cowell was convicted of battery in Walnut Creek.

Also, in 2015 Cowell's family filed a restraining order against him after he allegedly tried to enter their home while under the influence of drugs.

Later that same year, Cowell was arrested for possession of a controlled substance after he was found high on methamphetamine and was sentenced to 90 days in jail.

At a 2016 vigil for her boyfriend and his best friend, who had drowned in a reservoir, a shot was fired into the crowd of 3000 hitting 16 year old Reggin’a Jefferies in the neck.

Jefferies was standing right next to Wilson.

Wilson stayed with Jefferies until medical help arrived.

According to her father, she was set to graduate with honors from an Oakland continuation school, Dewey Academy.

At the time of the attack, Letifah Wilson was aged 26.

27 year-old John Cowell has been described as a 5 feet, 8 inch tall white man.

Cowell was raised in Concord, California where he lived on and off for years.

Cowell's earliest brush with the law came at age 18 when he was arrested for allegedly beating up a man and the man's daughter.

Four days before the stabbing, Cowell was confronted for not paying his BART fare.

In 2016, Cowell had been found guilty of second degree robbery after he brandished a knife and a fake gun in a Lucky store at El Cerrito Plaza after a security guard confronted him over stealing; he was arrested at El Cerrito BART Station, and was sentenced to two years in federal prison.

Also in 2016 Cowell was arrested for petty theft, illegal possession of tear gas, possession of an illegal smoking device and drug possession, but these charges were dismissed due to the robbery conviction.

In 2016, Kaiser Permanente Richmond Medical Center filed a restraining order against Cowell for threatening to kill one of their employees.

On July 22, 2018, three sisters, Nia, Letifah and Tashiya Wilson, were attacked by a man wielding a knife, later identified as John Cowell, after exiting a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train at MacArthur station in Oakland, California.

18-year-old Nia Wilson died after her throat was slashed.

Her older sister, Letifah, was stabbed in the neck but survived.

Tashiya was not physically harmed.

Cowell, aged 27, was identified as the suspect immediately following the attack, and he was caught the following day.

Cowell had been paroled in May 2018 after serving time for second degree robbery, and had previous charges for assault and possession of methamphetamine.

Initial perception of the attack as apparently racially-motivated spurred protests at MacArthur BART station and online.

Cowell's parents stated their belief that the attack was possibly motivated by Cowell's mental illness.

Authorities have yet to establish a motive for the attack and have also stated that there is no evidence that the attack was racially motivated.

Cowell had been released on parole in May 2018.

On July 17, 2020, Cowell was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.