Court orders mental evaluation for autistic teen charged with murder

by Tim Novotny KPIC News and KPIC.com Staff



COQUILLE, ORE - An 18-year-old Coos Bay man described as 'severely autistic' will undergo a mental evaluation to determine whether he understands the charges against him and can assist in his own defense.

Henry Levi Cozad appeared before a Coos County Judge on Monday. He faces a murder charge in what could be a complex case for the criminal justice system.

Cozad is accused of killing 59-year-old Linda Sue Foley, his father's girlfriend, in their Bunker Hill-area home last week.

An autopsy shows Foley died of internal bleeding as a result of severe blunt force trauma to the head, neck, chest and abdomen. It's believed to have been by hand only.

In court papers, Cozad, who appeared child-like and distracted throughout his video conference appearance in court, was described as having a history of violent outbursts.

Those outbursts included one prior adjudicated case as a juvenile, one that wasn't tried formally because of his mental condition, and a current case.

District Attorney Paul Frasier says "under the statute, if they are not competent to proceed, and never will be, then you're supposed to dismiss your case."

That is why lawyers on both sides agreed to a defense motion to have Cozad committed to the State Hospital for evaluation.

"This evaluation has to be done," Frasier said. "If the evaluation comes back that he's not competent to proceed, which I suspect it will say, then we would do an additional commitment back to the Hospital for them to treat him and so forth.

"However, they can send him back if they come back and say,'well he's not able, and will not be able, to aid and assist in his defense, and never will be."

Until a decision is rendered, which might not come until mid-April, the case is at a standstill.

There are a number of potential outcomes dependent on that decision, including civil action taken by the District Attorney's Office if the case has to be dismissed due to his mental state.

One last bit of business was able to be taken care of during this first court appearance, as Judge Martin Stone set bail at $1.5 million.

Source: http://www.kpic.com/news/local/41350522.html

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