Public Defender to Represent Murder Suspect

A man rescinded his request to represent himself in court at a Friday morning court appearance.

Jason Otis Monroe, 32, of Newark agreed to have a public defender represent him, just two days after he

Monroe did, however, make a request to be able to have one more week to decide whether he can represent himself in court.

Alameda Superior Court Judge Dennis McLaughlin accepted that Monroe be currently represented by a public defender and said if he decides to represent himself, it can be reviewed at the time it is requested.

Monroe is scheduled to return to the Fremont Hall of Justice on May 20. It is expected that a public defender may be assigned to him at that time, according to Deputy District Attorney Andrew Ross.

Monroe said in court Monday that he was on a number of antipsychotic medications. The court ordered that Monroe undergo a mental evaluation, but details on that report have not been released to the district attorney's office, Ross said.

Monroe faces one charge of murder that stems from an April 27 arrest in which Newark police found Evangeline Supena Contillo, 25, dead of apparent stab wounds in a home on the 36600 block of Cherry Street.

Monroe was found at the residence with his hands and clothes bloodied, according to Commander Robert Douglas of the .

At the time of the incident, Contillo had a restraining order in effect against Monroe, stemming from a Feb. 25 domestic battery case.

Monroe was previously arrested and convicted on Feb. 28 on charges of misdemeanor battery, assault and corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant.

Contillo was the victim of the assault and corporal injury charges, according to the district attorney’s office. The office would not release the identity of the battery victim.

The two are said to have been a couple who lived at the Newark home on Cherry Street with their two children, ages 3 and 5, and Monroe's mother, according to relatives of both individuals.

Family and Friends of Evangeline Contillo mourned her death and at a private mass and burial in Oakland and Livermore.

Monroe is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.

Union City Patch Editor Zoneil Maharaj contributed to this report.