A Casper man accused of stabbing his father-in-law to death and trying to murder his mother-in-law is asking for a second opinion on whether he was insane at the time of the crime.
George Kevin Dickerson, who was 61 when arrested in January, pleaded not guilty by reason of mental illness to second-degree and attempted murder Feb. 24.
The results of his mental illness evaluation are not public, but Dickerson has asked for a second opinion on it.
“(He) will inform the court of the designated examiner as soon as possible,” reads a notice of intention to seek second opinion, which Dickerson’s attorney Marty Scott, senior assistant public defender in Casper, filed Friday.
Scott’s filing on Dickerson’s behalf comes after the Natrona County District Court set a Dec. 4 trial for the defendant.
Under Wyoming law, a person can pause his prosecution if he’s not mentally fit to understand it. He also can plead not guilty by reason of mental illness, which gives him the burden of proving that he was mentally unfit to understand how wrongful his conduct was or to conform his conduct to the law.
The two mechanisms have different evaluations that go along with them. In the former, the evaluator seeks to determine whether the defendant is mentally competent. In the latter, the evaluator investigates whether the defendant was mentally competent during the crime.
The Bloody Room
Dickerson is accused of stabbing and beating his in-laws in their Casper bedroom on the evening of Jan. 8.
Rose Dennis, 84, survived the attack, but Dickerson’s stepfather-in-law Andy Martin, 75, died overnight at the scene.
Dickerson turned himself in the next day.
According to court testimony given at Dickerson’s preliminary hearing, both Dennis and Martin were found on the floor of their bedroom in a Casper home Jan. 8 after Dickerson reportedly called 911 dispatch and said he’d killed them with a knife.
Dennis lay at Martin’s feet, according to court testimony, and Martin’s head rested on Dennis’ CPAP machine. Police found blood on the floor, walls, ceiling and on both victims, the investigating agent said.
Evidence in the case suggests the stabbings and beatings happened the night before. Martin was cold to the touch when police arrived, but police heard Dennis uttering distressed moans, so they took her to a hospital.
Police said they found stab wounds on Martin’s chest and neck.
Dickerson called police to report the attacks, which he called a double homicide, at about 7 a.m. the morning of Jan. 8, court documents state.
He told police where he and his Suburban could be found in Casper. Police soon arrived and arrested him. They later found a bloody washcloth and pillow in his Suburban, according to court testimony.
Dickerson had reportedly told police that after the attacks, he went home and took a shower. There were roughly 11 hours between the suspected time of the attacks and Dickerson’s call to dispatch, documents and court testimony indicate.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
