A defense attorney and judge strongly indicated Wednesday that a 24-year-old man accused of bludgeoning his mother to death in January is sane enough to face prosecution.
Israel Melvin was charged Jan. 10 with one count of second-degree murder after police found his mother, Leonila Melvin, dead on the floor of her home with severe trauma to the back of her head and her body covered by gasoline-soaked blankets.
Police later found Israel Melvin in the bathroom of a restaurant, heavily intoxicated, according to court documents.
Circuit Court Judge Jefferson Boone Coombs paused Melvin’s prosecution that same week so a mental health examiner could determine whether Melvin is mentally fit to face trial.
He was not, as of a July 8 order by Coombs, in which the judge also asked Wyoming mental health professionals to try restoring Melvin’s mental faculties so the man could participate in his own case.
On Wednesday, Coombs held a status hearing in which both he and Melvin’s defense attorney, Wyoming Public Defender Brandon Booth, strongly indicated that Melvin is sane enough to face trial.
Coombs said he will set an official competency hearing for a later date. He also will set a preliminary hearing for that same date: that’s a proceeding that cannot be scheduled if the defendant is not mentally competent to understand it.
We’re Good Here
Booth told the judge that he will not be asking for a second opinion, after reviewing a Wyoming State Hospital examiner’s report on Melvin’s mental status.
That report is not a public document, under Wyoming law.
Booth was optimistic that he’d be able to work with his client on the case.
“When I first met him in person, Mr. Melvin would barely engage, wouldn’t make any eye contact – you could tell he was really struggling. There was no way he could cooperate with counsel in any form,” said Booth. But after reviewing Melvin’s “restoration report,” the defender feels Melvin can work with him, albeit with some special accommodations.
“He was almost a different person (yesterday),” said Booth. “There’s still going to be some complexities and some difficulties explaining stuff, with his psychiatric profile.”
But the pair were able to communicate this week about Melvin’s competency, his charges, and court processes, Booth said.
Stay There
Melvin’s examiner requested that Melvin stay at the Wyoming State Hospital during his prosecution, instead of at the Sheridan County Detention Center.
Booth agreed with that.
Booth also said that not only would he not be requesting a second mental evaluation, he also has no intention to cross-examine Melvin’s examiner at the later hearing.
The defender floated the idea of having the judge make a finding on Melvin’s competency in court Wednesday, but Sheridan County Deputy Attorney Christopher LaRosa countered, saying state law says the court “shall” hold a hearing on the matter.
Adhering to procedural laws like that can make the difference of whether a defendant can get a conviction overturned on appeal.
“I don’t want to do anything that negates any of those requirements,” said LaRosa, adding that his questioning of Melvin’s examiner will be brief. “The cleaner thing to do is just to set the hearing.”
There Was No Ruling
Coombs did not make a ruling Wednesday on whether Melvin is competent to face trial.
Booth’s characterization of Melvin’s improved state, and Coombs’ statement that he’ll be holding a preliminary hearing right after Melvin’s future competency hearing, however, indicate strongly that Melvin will be found competent to fight the charge of murder, as well as a drug-possession charge he faces.
Booth did not respond by publication time to a voicemail request for additional comment.
Out Of Jail
The evidentiary affidavit in Melvin’s case says he got out of jail in December 2023, after being charged with a sex act against a 15-year-old the year before.
Melvin failed to pass four mental health evaluations in 2023, and he was found incompetent to proceed in each case, the Sheridan Press reported.
His parents, Paul and Leonila, were trying to save money so they could get him into a group home, but Israel caused problems and was moody, the affidavit relates from Paul’s interview.
Israel was often upset with his parents because they refused to buy him alcohol, says the document.
Knowing he had to wake up at 4:15 a.m. for work, Paul went to bed early Saturday night, says the document. But Israel called Paul at about 11 that evening to ask for a ride from the M&M’s Center hockey rink.
Paul went to pick Israel up and his son said he was hungry, so Paul took him out for Domino’s pizza, the affidavit says.
Then they went home together, and there were no problems at that time, according to Paul’s interview.
Why She Won’t Answer
Paul’s wife woke early with him to see him off to work the next day, says the affidavit. They parted ways at 4:35 a.m.
He tried to call her from his work phone at 1:58 that afternoon, but she didn’t answer.
The affidavit says police confirmed Paul’s accounts of his phone calls through call logs.
He tried her again at 5:33 that evening, and also tried his own personal cellphone, which he left at home because only his work phone has service in the mine, the document says.
Still, no one answered the phone.
At 7:09 p.m., Paul called Sheridan police and told them he was concerned because he hadn’t been able to reach his wife, and when he arrived home, he didn’t see her.
‘Kid Did This’
But just before the police arrived a few minutes later, Paul found his wife — dead under a heap of gasoline-soaked blankets in the living room, the affidavit alleges.
He went outside and wept out loud.
Sgt. Shaun Gerleman was the first to arrive, and found Paul sobbing.
“F***in’ kid did this,” Paul reportedly said. He gave officers consent to enter his home.
The officers found the deceased Leonila face-down on the floor with severe trauma to the back of her head.
A preliminary autopsy report says she died of blunt-force trauma via a blunt object with sharp corners. Her skull was fractured so extensively, the examiner could not tell how many times the object struck her, the affidavit says.
She also had two broken ribs.
With her under the heap of blankets and laundry was a metal stand — a flat base with sharp corners — that had tissue and blood on it; along with other metal fireplace tools, says the document.
The home reportedly smelled of gasoline.
Get A Lawyer
While police were discovering and investigating the death of his mother, Israel was already in police custody, having been arrested earlier in the day on suspicion of drug use. Police had found him in a fast-food restaurant bathroom the same morning as his mother’s death, pacing in a cloud of what looked like marijuana smoke, court documents say.
His mother’s passport was on his person during his arrest, the affidavit says, adding that the drawer where Leonila kept her passport in her bedroom had been detached from its dresser and placed on the floor.
Two investigators went to talk to Israel at the Sheridan Detention Center after they found his mother dead.
When they said they wanted to talk about what happened between Israel and his mom, Israel asked for a lawyer, the affidavit says.
