A 23-year-old Los Angeles woman was charged Monday with stabbing a construction worker to death – a crime that NBC Bay Area has learned allegedly occurred after the victim refused to allow her accused attacker to use a construction site Porta-Potty.
The Friday morning attack claimed the life of Mitzi Campbell, 58, of San Francisco. Two years ago, Campbell went through San Francisco’s City Build construction job training program. On Monday, Mayor Ed Lee issued a statement of condolences to the victim’s family.
Campbell was directing traffic around construction at Fifth and Shipley streets at 9:30 a.m. Friday at the time of the confrontation.
The accused attacker, Lizette Cauich, was arrested soon after the stabbing and was charged Monday with murder, attempted murder and robbery. Sources told NBC Bay Area that Cauich became angry when Campbell refused to allow her use of the construction site toilet.
Police say the suspect was with Oscar Mendez, 42, also of Los Angeles at the time of the attack. Sources toldl NBC Bay Area that Mendez was caught with the knife used in the slaying, and was arrested on warrants, narcotics and weapons charges.
But authorities have since tied Mendez and the woman to an earlier, identical attack on another construction worker. Mendez faces attempted murder and mayhem charges for that attack – which occurred at 1:30 p.m. on May 29 - at another construction site in the Tenderloin.
Sources say that stabbing also followed the victim’s refusal to allow his assailants to use the Porta-Potty at a construction site. The unidentified victim was said to be critically injured in that attack.
