Man charged with killing 6 in Michigan will get mental exam

Jason Dalton, of Kalamazoo County, was arrested early Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016 in after several victims were shot at random.

Jason Dalton is charged with murder.

Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting said MI law requires Dalton be declared competent to stand trial.

Getting said the evaluation will be finished within the next two months and it will not determine whether Dalton is legally insane.

Eusebio Solis has declined comment since his appointment as defense attorney last week.

The competency exam has no bearing on a potential insanity defense: As the case proceeds, one option for Solis is to file a notice in district court or circuit court of intent to pursue an insanity defense for Dalton.

“Does he understand what’s happening now with regard to these proceedings, is he able to assist his defense attorney in a rational manner at this time”, Getting says, referring to the questions the Center for Forensic Psychiatry will pursue in the evaluation. I don’t know if I can say it’s a miracle. All Getting would say about motive on Thursday was that police continue to “try to determine a “why” for this”. “We don’t have any knowledge of a history of mental difficulties”, the prosecutor said.

According to court records, lawyers delayed Thursday’s preliminary hearing.

Killed in the attacks were Mary Lou Nye, 62, of Baroda; Richard Smith, 53, and his son Tyler, 17, of Mattawan; and Mary Jo Nye, 60, Dorothy “Judy” Brown, 74, and Barbara Hawthorne, 68, all of Battle Creek.

“It’s not reflective of what his state of mind may have been during the commission of these crimes”, Getting said.

Carruthers, who was shot outside an apartment complex, was the first in a series of victims that evening.

The mother of one of the survivors, a 14-year-old girl, believes her daughter “willed herself back” after doctors called a time of death. They are being assisted by federal investigators, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The exam means a hearing scheduled for March 10 to determine if there’s enough evidence to send Dalton to trial is postponed. A report expected by May 10, but could come much sooner.