|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Malik Dosouqi, the suspect in the Skyline Boulevard double homicide case, shared a Yemeni ancestry with one of the victims in the case, Abdulmalick Nasher, although no evidence has been shown that they knew each other, according to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
In addition, a knife investigators believe was used in the killing of tow truck driver John Pekipaki was found next to him when investigators found him lying on the ground next to Skyline Boulevard on the evening of June 18. Investigators believe that Pekipaki fought his attacker, Wagstaffe said.
Alta Vista High School Principal Bill Pierce said a student named John Pekipaki attended the Mountain View continuation school in the early 2000s, and a Facebook page under the same name identified him as an Alta Vista student who graduated from Mountain View High in 2005.
Dosouqi has been charged with two counts of murder and five other felony counts, including two counts each of assault with a deadly weapon and infliction of great bodily injury, and one count of special circumstances for multiple murders.
The suspect was wearing a cast on his arm when he was arraigned in San Mateo County Superior Court on June 24, although it’s not clear whether the injury occurred during a struggle with Pekipaki.
“The knife was found near Pekipaki, but we’re not sure if it was used in both killings,” Wagstaffe said.
Wagstaffe also said that Dosouqi’s mental health would almost certainly be a factor in the case.
A first-degree murder charge, which would make Dosouqi eligible for the death penalty or life in prison, requires premeditation. Likewise, a second-degree murder charge would drop to manslaughter if the prosecution can’t prove an intent to kill, he said.
San Mateo County sheriff’s deputies found the body of Nasher, 32, a cab driver who had reportedly been called to the remote location on Skyline Boulevard near Reid’s Roost Road to pick up a fare on the evening of June 17. He had been stabbed multiple times.
The next evening, deputies investigating Nasher’s killing heard cries for help from Pekipaki, 31, who was also found with multiple stab wounds and died at the scene.
Dosouqi was arrested after he allegedly drove his car at deputies, who shot at him and then captured him after he drove into a ditch. He was taken to the hospital for an arm laceration before he was released late Thursday and booked into San Mateo County Jail.
Sheriff’s Office investigators are still trying to determine a motive and whether the two slayings are linked.
Dosouqi declined to enter a plea at his arraignment in San Mateo County Superior Court on June 24.
The case was reset for entry of a plea on July 8 at 1:30 p.m., and Dosouqi will be held on no bail, Wagstaffe said.
