Oxnard Woman Charged With Attempted Murder Of 75-Year-Old Man Found Mentally Incompetent

Sunday October 08, 2023

     Updated--The criminal case against an Oxnard woman who had been charged with the attempted murder of a 75-year-old man in a park last year is on hold after she was found mentally incompetent.

     The Ventura County District Attorney's Office alleged 31-year-old Stephanie Mendez stabbed the man in what police called an unprovoked attack in Lemonwood Park in June of 2022.

     Mendez had pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon and she denied several special allegations including violence against an elderly and vulnerable victim.

     But then she was found mentally incompetent to understand the charges against her or to aid in her defense and the criminal proceedings were suspended and she was committed to a state mental facility

     Police say on the morning of June 6th, the victim was walking through the park when for no apparent reason Mendez was alleged to have stabbed him in the neck.

     Witnesses told police the suspect then fled on foot.

     The victim had to undergo emergency surgery.

     It's unknown if the criminal case will ever be revived and if so if her mental state at the time of the attack will be an issue in her defense.