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Man Accused Of Killing Stepdaughter Deemed Competent For Trial

WARREN (WWJ/AP) - A Minnesota man who police say fatally shot his 20-year-old stepdaughter in Michigan has been deemed competent to stand trial.

Forty-six-year-old Rahim Alfetlawi made an appearance Thursday in a Warren courtroom. He is charged with first-degree murder in the April 30 death of Jessica Mokdad at her grandmother's home in the Detroit suburb of Warren. Mokdad was shot in the head at point-blank range.

Authorities previously said Alfetlawi was angry because Mokdad left home and wasn't following Islam. The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens reports prosecutors now say religion wasn't an issue and Mokdad's biological father was targeted.

The Coon Rapids man has said he suffers mental issues stemming from "humiliation and torture" in Iraq in the 1990s under Saddam Hussein's regime.

The defense has said the shooting was an accident.

Alfetlawi is due in court again Feb. 27

TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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