AUGUSTA (AP) — A Gardiner man charged with killing and dismembering his father has been ruled incompetent to stand trial and will remain in a state psychiatric facility.
Leroy Smith III was scheduled to be arraigned on a murder charge Tuesday in Kennebec County Superior Court in connection with the May death of 56-year-old Leroy Smith Jr. inside the apartment they shared.
But his defense attorneys asked a judge to postpone the hearing and their motion was unopposed by prosecutors.
His is being held at the Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta.
The Kennebec Journal reports that the 24-year-old Smith told the judge in a note that he wants to fire his court-appointed attorneys.
The younger man told investigators he killed his father because he had sexually abused him.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less