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Defense: Suspect In North Port Death May Be Incompetent
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Published: November 15, 2008
SARASOTA COUNTY - The man accused of kidnapping Denise Lee from her North Port home and killing her may be incompetent to stand trial, his attorney says.
Michael King's attorney has asked for a competency hearing to determine whether King has the ability to help in his own defense. No hearing date has been set.
"Conversations with defendant reveal an irrational thought process on the part of the defendant," assistant public defender Carolyn Schlemmer wrote in the motion.
Defendants are required to show an understanding of the charges against them and facts behind the charges so they can help in their defense.
The charges won't be dropped if King, 37, is determined to be incompetent, and he is not considered not guilty by reason of insanity.
A defendant who is declared incompetent is sent to a state hospital for treatment until doctors determine the person meets the legal criteria for competency.
The motion comes six months after a judge ordered an examination to see if a past head injury has affected King's brain function.
Attorneys for King said in a motion that he had suffered a head injury and they wanted doctors to do a test known as a PET scan.
Experts say such injuries can change a person's personality and behavior later in life.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for King, who is charged with kidnapping, rape and murder.
Lee, 21, was reported missing from her North Port home on the afternoon of Jan. 17.
Her body was found two days later in a shallow grave six miles from her home.
King was arrested on a kidnapping charge the night of the abduction and was charged with murder after the body was found. He is being held in solitary confinement at the Sarasota County jail.
A lab has matched King's DNA to DNA found on Lee's body, according to court documents filed by the prosecution.
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