Family, friends mourn victim of fatal San Mateo stabbing

The courtroom was filled with nearly a dozen of Estrella’s family and friends who appeared visibly shaken and came to court to represent the loss of Estrella. Mechikoff was scheduled to make a plea, but didn’t because his public defender said he wants a copy of all the police reports, the DA’s Office said. Instead, he appeared apathetic and posturing in the courtroom with his chest out looking around, but seemingly unbothered.

Cherin Knuist, a friend of Estrella, alleges that Estrella and Mechikoff met at the Samaritan House shelter in Redwood City, the former site of the Pacific Inn. She said Estrella briefly dated Mechikoff but said Estrella broke it off and never had anything good to say about Mechikoff.

“He seemed like a bad guy, that’s why she was his ex,” Knuist said. “She mentioned he was abusive.”

Posting the crime on Facebook gave it notoriety but also has an impact on the charges.

“It is particularly callous to have posted on Facebook a dying victim that he just stabbed. That is an aggravating factor in the prosecution of this case,” District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

A woman saw the post while in Florida and called a Sheriff’s Office in Nevada to report the crime because it was the last place she knew Mechikoff lived. From there, that Sheriff’s Office pinpointed the Facebook posting here and reached out to the San Mateo Police Department. San Mateo police conducted a search of the apartment complex at the 200 block of 37th Avenue. After the door-to-door search, officers found Estrella dead on the kitchen floor. Mechikoff was found and arrested a few hours later in San Jose, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

Mechikoff is charged with one count of murder in the first degree and could face a maximum of 26 years to life in prison. However, Wagstaffe said there is still a lot of investigation work that needs to be completed.

Friends at the courthouse, and after a memorial gathering at the Redwood City Navigation Center Community Room, painted a more vivid picture of Estrella. She was loved by many and was a bright light for otherwise dark times for many who lived with her at the homeless shelter.

“She was always trying to help people, if they had any kind of ailment she would make the perfect herbal tea for them and she would cook for them,” Knuist said.

A few months ago, after Estrella moved into her apartment she told Knuist that Mechikoff was contacting her, Knuist said, but when she followed up about Mechikoff, she said she stopped talking to him.

Sam Stockwell, Navigation Center case manager, said there were about 15 people attending the memorial inside the center’s community room. During the memorial, multiple people spoke about Estrella. There was a shrine with pictures, candles and music she enjoyed and notes from her friends. Stockwell said the shrine will remain in the community room for the time being for people to pay their respects.

Stockwell said Estrella was 75% blind and a very quiet and kind person who kept to herself and loved listening to music. He said she often shared music she enjoyed with him and he played it during the memorial.

“Even after she left the shelter she would reach out to me if she met someone on the streets that needed help getting housed, trying to find a place to sleep that night, she was constantly trying to do stuff like that,” Stockwell said.

Marie Jackson, Life Moves chief marketing officer, said the community at the shelters is very tightknit and clients take care of one another.

“When anything happens to one of their own they need to grieve,” she said.