The Pacifica man accused in the July 2023 stabbing of a woman inside an apartment in San Mateo has been declared mentally incompetant to stand trial.

Mark Stephen Mechikoff, 40, previously pleaded not guilty to the murder of 41-year-old Claribel Estrella, which occurred on July 26, 2023. According to San Mateo County prosecutors, Mechikoff said during the plea hearing that "he did kill the victim, but his confession was generated by AI."

The murder was live-streamed on Facebook, and a person acquainted with Mechikoff, who was living in Nye County, Nevada, was the first to report the crime to local police. The police in Nye County ended up tracking Mechikoff's cellphone to the apartment complex in San Mateo, and reported the crime to San Mateo police. Police ended up going door to door in the complex, untimately finding Estrella's body in one unit.

Prosecutors said in court that Mechikoff was trying to show off. "He then filmed it and posted it on his Facebook account. She was on the ground, and still alive, still moving a little bit. He felt a certain pride," said District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe, speaking to KRON4.

But the DA's office is now publicizing the fact that Mechikoff has been remanded into psychiatric care. His competency hearing actually took place on June 28, and as KRON4 reports, Judge Stephanie Garratt suspended the criminal proceeding and declared Mechikoff incompetent to stand trial.

Two psychiatrists, Dr. Rami Mogannam and Dr. Yan Chan, determined that Mechikoff was mentally unfit.

He will now spend at least two years in a state mental health facility, or until his competency may be restored.

Previously: Woman Stabbed In San Mateo Apartment; Suspect Streams Final Moments On Facebook

Top image: San Mateo County Superior Court via Wikimedia