OAKLAND — He returned to the scene of the crime.

After sneaking back onto the BART system less than 24 hours after allegedly stabbing two sisters in the neck, John Lee Cowell rode at least two busy evening commute trains through the East Bay on Monday evening as police scrambled to intercept him, even passing through the same station platform where the slashing occurred.

For at least 40 minutes, Cowell, who police had described as armed and dangerous, rode the transit system in packed BART cars before a passenger spotted him at the Coliseum station and called police, according to police audio recordings. He eventually was arrested without incident at the Pleasant Hill station after transferring trains at least once, avoiding a BART police search.

A review of two hours of BART dispatch audio raises questions about how Cowell, who BART police had identified as a suspect hours after Sunday night’s stabbing, reentered a transit system on high alert and how the department handled his capture once he was spotted.

A violent felon with a long criminal history, Cowell was booked into Santa Rita Jail at 11:40 p.m. Monday on charges of first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon and violation of parole. The Concord transient is expected to be arraigned Wednesday in Oakland on suspicion that he fatally stabbed 18-year-old Nia Wilson, of Oakland, and critically wounded her sister Latifa on the MacArthur BART platform Sunday night.

“Sometimes … you slip through the cracks,” said Daryle Allums, Nia’s godfather, who helped pass out 2,000 fliers Monday with Cowell’s face and description. “There was so much stuff happening (Monday), thank God for the community being aware. We can’t always depend on law enforcement to get out there and do it, we have to be a village and do our part too.”

Authorities on Tuesday morning released a new booking mugshot of Cowell, 27, showing the former Concord resident with Band-Aids on his forehead and a “North Concord” tattoo on his chest peeking out from his red jail jumpsuit.

According to KRON-TV, Cowell’s family released a statement Tuesday evening offering their deepest apologies to the Wilsons.

“First and foremost, we want to let the Wilson Family know that our hearts go to them & are mourning for your family. This horrific tragedy never should have happened,” the statement reads in part, before asserting that Cowell “has been suffering from mental illness most of his life,” referring later to untreated bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

The statement ends with a reference to threats and harassment since the stabbing aimed at Cowell’s aunt, who lives in Concord: “She too has lost 2 sons at young ages to tragic deaths. She, as our entire family is heartbroken for the Wilson Family. Our prayers go out to everyone in their family. ​​​”

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New downtown San Jose transit village comes into view The stabbing marked the second homicide on the BART system in two days and the third death in five days. The cluster of unrelated attacks marks one of the most violent stretches for the transit agency in recent history.

Police were investigating two other deaths from assaults that occurred at the Bay Fair station and the Pleasant Hill station, respectively, BART has said. Aggravated assaults have risen 28 percent the first six months of this year (68) compared to the same time period last year (53), according to BART crime data released Tuesday.

BART police are still piecing together Cowell’s motive — he refused to answer questions from detectives and requested a lawyer, BART police said. Also unknown was his whereabouts since the stabbing at 9:35 p.m. Sunday that Chief Carlos Rojas watched on surveillance video and called “one of the most vicious attacks” he had seen.

According to dispatch audio, around 5:47 p.m. Monday, an anonymous passenger on a Richmond-bound train called BART police saying Cowell was on the train since the Coliseum station. The train was just leaving the 12th Street station in downtown Oakland when BART dispatch asked for a “train intercept” at the MacArthur station, two stops away.

A BART official asked for the train to stay an “extended time” at the 19th Street station so officers could set up at MacArthur. However, radio traffic indicates that during this delay, Cowell walked across the platform and entered an Antioch-bound train.

That Antioch train with Cowell on board would have arrived at the MacArthur station, the scene of the stabbing, at about 5:56 p.m., as police officers were waiting to intercept the Richmond train on the other side of the station. At the same time, Wilson’s family was leading a vigil for the slain woman at Mac Arthur station as well.

BART police cleared the Richmond train and realized Cowell was gone and had entered the Antioch train, “probably at Rockridge now,” according to the audio.

BART Deputy Chief Ed Alvarez said at a news conference Tuesday it’s possible Cowell may have actually exited the Richmond train at the busy MacArthur platform and walked across to the Antioch train there, just as officers attempted to search the Richmond train.

By the time BART police learned Cowell was on a new train, which was just leaving the Rockridge station, dispatch at 6:06 p.m. set up another police stop for the Pleasant Hill station, four stops away with Orinda, Lafayette and Walnut Creek stations in between. Alvarez explained that officers were at the Pleasant Hill station already and it would have taken too long to drive in traffic to another station, and stopping the train for an extended period of time could have spooked the suspect and endangered passengers.

“If a train sits there, that’s when people get antsy,” Alvarez said. “He could have gotten off the train there.”

When officers found him on a train at the Pleasant Hill Station, he appeared calm and “wanted to know what was going on,” authorities said. Chief Rojas said he voluntarily gave his name and identification.

Cowell was arrested at the Pleasant Hill station at 6:27 p.m., according to the deputy chief. A short video clip obtained by ABC7 showed two officers arresting Cowell, who calmly stood on the platform showing little emotion.

BART Director Robert Raburn, who lives in Oakland, said he was pleased with how quickly and thoroughly BART police worked the case.

“Am I concerned? Ideally, I wanted to bring the perpetrator (into custody) immediately. How you do it, you have to have sufficient force in place. You can’t depend on even just two officers,” he said.

Rayburn said it’s possible Cowell “probably took another BART trip or two” during his time on the lam. He hopes surveillance footage will help log his whereabouts during that time.

Staff writers Rick Hurd, Erin Baldassari and George Kelly contributed to this report.