ALFRED — A judge Thursday ordered an accused killer from Old Orchard Beach committed to a state psychiatric hospital for an extensive evaluation after his mental health has been repeatedly called into question.

Derek Poulin, 25, who is accused of bludgeoning and stabbing his grandmother to death and setting fire to the bedroom where her body was found in 2012, has had at least three mental competency exams by state psychologists since his arrest nearly two years ago.

The reports documenting what those mental exams in 2013 and 2014 found have been sealed by the judge in York County Superior Court. But court records that remain public show that none of the previous examinations by three different psychologists from State Forensic Services was as extensive as the one ordered Thursday, and none of the others involved committing Poulin to Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta for up to 60 days.

Poulin, who lived with his 61-year-old grandmother, Patricia Noel, at her house at 44 Wesley Ave., is accused of killing her at home on Oct. 23, 2012.

In the weeks before Noel was killed, she described being physically and emotionally abused by Poulin, saying he had called her names, blown cigarette smoke in her face and “gotten physical” with her, according to an affidavit that police filed seeking a warrant for Poulin’s arrest.

Noel died from multiple blunt impact injuries to the head, skull fractures and multiple stab wounds, the affidavit said. Police found a golf club handle and shaft, a golf club head, a wrench and a knife with a 3-inch blade in the shower connected to the bedroom where her body was found.

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A “red brown stain” found on one of Poulin’s boots matched Noel’s DNA profile, as did a swab of the wrench found in the shower, police said.

Justice Paul Fritzsche issued Thursday’s order after a closed-door discussion in his chambers with lawyers involved in the case. Poulin’s attorney, Amy Fairfield, attended the discussion in person while prosecutors Leane Zainea and Donald Macomber from the Attorney General’s Office joined by phone.

Fritzsche noted in his order released by the clerk’s office that the mental examination was requested jointly by the court, the prosecutors, Fairfield and State Forensic Services. Fritzsche requested that Poulin have a neuropsychological exam to assess his brain function in addition to the standard observation and treatment used by mental health workers at the hospital.

“There’s been no finding of incompetency yet,” Fairfield said at the courthouse after conferring with the judge and prosecutors. “Derek is struggling with mental health issues. The genesis of those issues, I don’t know what it is. I need some experts to assist me to be able to work with him.”

Macomber said that after Poulin undergoes the 60-day evaluation, the court could request another 60-day commitment to Riverview, then a 90-day commitment. If he is then found not competent, the court could order him held for another year at Riverview to see whether his mental state changes.

“Those are bridges to be crossed at a later date,” Macomber said.

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Poulin did not appear in court Thursday and hasn’t appeared at any proceedings since last October, when Fairfield argued a motion to have statements Poulin made to police before his arrest stricken. Fairfield has spoken to Poulin twice this month and said that his state remains unchanged since she requested his first mental exam in a different motion on July 29, 2013.

After the psychiatric evaluation determines Poulin’s mental state, it still will be up to Fritzsche to decide whether he will stand trial.

“This is a very unusual case,” Fairfield said.

If the court ultimately finds that Poulin is incompetent to stand trial with no likelihood that he could recover, state law requires that the murder and arson charges against him be dismissed. If that happened, Poulin would be released from the York County Jail, where he has been held since his arrest, and set free without further penalty.

If convicted, Poulin faces 25 years to life in prison on the murder charge, and up to 30 years on the arson charge.


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