A Vaiden man accused of killing his six-year-old brother and setting fire to his family’s apartment has been ruled incompetent to stand trial.
A circuit court judge determined that 20-year-old Thomas Perry, III was mentally incapable of withstanding trial during a competency hearing held on Monday.
Perry, who has been in jail for homicide, arson, and animal cruelty charges, is reported to have stabbed his brother to death, stuffed his body in a closet, and set the apartment on fire in July 2022.
A 50-page mental competency evaluation swayed the judge’s decision to have the 20-year-old committed to a mental institution rather than undergo the trial process.
Carroll County Sheriff Clint Walker did not agree with the judge’s decision.
“Although this is certainly not the outcome that we had hoped for, it is how our legal system works,” Walker stated.
Perry will remain in a mental institution until such time if and when his sanity is restored.
