A Fairfax County judge has ordered a mental competency evaluation for the man accused of stabbing a Fredericksburg woman to death at a Hybla Valley bus stop earlier this year.
Circuit Court Judge Manuel Capsalis entered an order on Oct. 14 for the evaluation of 33-year-old Abdul Jalloh.
Jalloh has been charged with second-degree murder for the killing of 41-year-old Stephanie Minter on Feb. 23.
The case received national attention because Jalloh, a native of Sierra Leone, was in the country without authorization and had a history of arrests, including for knife-related incidents. Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano and Sheriff Stacey Kincaid testified at a U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement hearing centered around the case earlier this year.
The competency evaluation was agreed to by the defense and prosecution, with the costs carried by the state. Jalloh will be examined by Katherine Robinson, a clinical and forensic psychologist based out of Gainesville.
A spokesperson for the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said the measure is relatively standard.
At a preliminary hearing in August, prosecutors showed surveillance video from a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority bus of Minter and Jalloh getting on the bus at Lukens Lane in Mount Vernon. The two didn’t interact in the video and got off at the stop at Richmond Highway and Arlington Drive.
The bus driver testified that Minter sat in the shelter while Jalloh stood behind it. Another bus pulled up about 10 minutes later and found blood throughout the area. Police arrived around 7 p.m. and found Minter who was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Fairfax County Police Department quickly identified Jalloh as a person of interest based on the Metrobus surveillance footage. A worker at a nearby business recognized the published photo of him and called authorities, leading to his arrest the next day.
A homicide detective said Jalloh told him that Minter asked him to steal some beer for her, even though they had never met. The detective was not allowed to testify regarding whether Jalloh admitted to or denied killing Minter, and he didn’t say exactly how the stabbing is believed to have unfolded.
Jalloh is scheduled to face a jury trial on Jan. 25, 2027.
