A San Francisco man found mentally unfit to stand trial last year in connection with the 2009 fatal stabbing of an Excelsior District man outside his home has now been found competent and will be tried for murder.
Charlie Foniloa Sekona, 22, is accused of stabbing 49-year-old Eric Buschman in the 300 block of Athens Street at about 7:40 p.m. on Oct. 12, 2009. Buschman had been unloading his truck outside his home after returning from a camping trip.
Sekona, who lived with his family a few blocks away, had just stepped off a bus when he allegedly attacked Buschman for unknown reasons, according to the district attorney’s office. His family told police he has a history of mental illness.
Sekona was arrested 10 days after the killing.
In May 2010, a judge found Sekona unfit to stand trial after court-appointed doctors determined he has paranoid schizophrenia. He was sent to Napa State Hospital.
However, after a recent review, a judge on Monday found him competent to stand trial, his new attorney, Jennifer Johnson of the public defender’s office, said today.
Johnson said she had just received the case and was unable to comment on the specifics yet.
A hearing will be scheduled later this month to set a date for a preliminary hearing in the case.
Prosecutor Asit Panwala said that in addition to video showing Sekona exiting the bus just before the stabbing, a bloody knife recovered from his home had Buschman’s DNA on it.
Ari Burack, Bay City News
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