A Campbell County teen accused of stabbing his mother in the back while she was sleeping earlier this summer asked a judge Friday to pause his prosecution so he can get a mental health test.
Tharles Smith, 17, was charged as an adult in June on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder. Court documents say he plunged a knife through his mother Karla Smith’s scapula, breaking two of her ribs and puncturing her lung overnight June 10 after quarreling with her through the evening.
“I would not like Mr. Smith to answer anything with regard to a plea, because I am seeking to have him evaluated,” Christopher Goetz, Smith’s defense attorney, told Campbell County District Court Judge Stuart Healy III just before Smith’s scheduled arraignment Friday.
Goetz cited a Wyoming statute, 7-11-303, that says how to pause a defendant’s prosecution so he can get a mental health evaluation to see if he is fit to give a plea.
This is not the same as the next statute in the books, 304, which tells authorities how to determine whether a defendant can’t be found guilty of a crime because of his mental state during the crime.
Healy asked Goetz to put his request in writing.
Campbell County Attorney Nathan Henkes agreed, saying it’s appropriate to have it in writing “with the reasoning, just, as to why.”
Mom On The Mend
Karla Smith is on the mend, but still unable to return to her work in cosmetology, she told Cowboy State Daily on Friday.
“We didn’t go (to the hearing) today,” said Karla Smith of herself and her husband. “We went to the last one and it was pretty hard on us, because we had to re-listen to everything that happened that night.”
Her doctor told her last Thursday to stay home from work for another six weeks because she still can’t fully lift her left arm and hold it up, she said.
Sometimes she feels winded, but her breathing has improved since the stabbing, and she’s “at least able to walk,” she said.
The emotional struggles are worse than the physical, Karla Smith added.
“I just wish that we could end up redoing that night over and go back to how it was before,” she said. “Start over.”
Karla also said she ran into Gov. Mark Gordon at the Johnson County Fair about five weeks ago, and she urged him to seek more resources for both defendants and victims struggling with mental health fallout.
Gordon said the small size of Wyoming’s communities and the shortage of beds in mental health and behavioral facilities statewide are both obstacles, said Karla Smith.
She told Cowboy State Daily that Tharles was institutionalized for behavioral issues for about eight months when he was 16, but he only grew angrier during that time.
Governor’s Word
Gordon’s spokesman Michael Pearlman confirmed to Cowboy State Daily that Gordon and Karla Smith spoke at the county fair, about the case and mental health challenges across the state.
“Mental health is a priority for the governor, and he shared that with her,” Pearlman said, adding that’s also why Gordon attended a mental health town hall at Powell High School on Thursday night.
“(Gordon) believes we need to continue to support how we address some of these challenges statewide,” said Pearlman, adding, “The Legislature needs to be part of that conversation.”
Raffle Went Well
Karla Smith and others arranged to raffle off Tharles’ pig this summer to help cover her medical costs. That went well, said Karla.
She also wanted to extend her gratitude toward Gary’s Welding Inc. for donating to her medical bills, and notes that a friend has now established a GoFundMe campaign to help cover the cost of her life flight.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
