A Hinds County judge Thursday ordered the man accused of assaulting and murdering 51-year-old Wendy Gilbreath at Merit Health Central in Jackson to be placed in the state hospital in an attempt to restore his competency.
On March 5, Gilbreath, a 51-year-old Texan was passing through the Jackson area and stopped at Merit Health Central where she was brutally assaulted on the sixth floor of the facility, allegedly by another patient she had never met.
The Hinds County coroner identified the victim as Gilbreath. Yet nearly six months after authorities reported Gilbreath dead, no officials released the name of Gilbreath’s accused killer. The Clarion Ledger was the first media outlet to break the news in August that 36-year-old David Reed of Diamondhead, was Gilbreath’s alleged perpetrator.
On Thursday, Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Adrienne Wooten was set to rule on a motion brought by the defense asking for Reed, 36, to be committed to the Mississippi State Hospital at Whitefield and ruled not competent to stand trial.
However, the state raised concerns about whether Reed's competency could be restored based on findings from an evaluation performed by Dr. Laura Brodie, a forensic psychology evaluator in Gulfport retained by Reed's attorney William Bell.
Assistant District Attorney Gwen Agho noted that in Brodie's opinion, Brodie believes it is unlikely Reed will retain competency but previously Brodie had also stated Reed's return to competency is dependent upon how effective medications and treatments will be. Agho requested the court allow Reed an opportunity to gain competency.
Wooten agreed with the state finding that Brodie does indicate Reed could benefit from restoration treatment. The defense did not object.
"I will say to you that her opinion goes from one end of the spectrum to the other," Wooten said. "At one point he can be restored, and at the other point she doesn't believe that he can be. Very strange. However, I am going to place him in the custody of the state hospital for restoration treatment and for them to attempt to restore him back to competency so that this matter can move forward."
What did an evaluator find in Reed?
While the evaluation report performed by Brodie is under seal in court records, Wooten read off inside the courtroom parts of Brodie's findings and conclusion on Reed, who allegedly has "delusional beliefs" and "difficulty with delusions."
"Dr. Brodie states that it is her opinion with reasonable psychological certainty that Mr. Reed has a factual understanding of the nature and object of the legal proceedings against him, but he does not have a rational understanding of the nature and object of the proceedings against him," Wooten said.
"She further states until Mr. Reed can be restored to competency, it does not appear he can act in his best interest and effectively work with his attorney. His return to restoration of competency is dependent upon how effective medications and treatment will be for him. He should be placed in the appropriate psychiatric facility for medication evaluation and continued assessment of his psychological functioning.
"She goes on further to say that it is her opinion to a reasonable degree of psychological probability that David Reed will unlikely attain competency in light of his history of major mental illness, and due to his diagnoses being very difficult to treat and resolve. And at this point, it is her opinion to a reasonable degree of probability that David Reid should be admitted as an inpatient at the forensic unit of the Mississippi State Hospital at Wheatfield, Mississippi."
Bell asked the Court to unseal the evaluation report under the notion that there is "no reason" from the defense's stance as to why the report should remain sealed. Wooten denied that request stating there were no reasons to unseal the report because "the parties who need to see the report have seen the report."
What is David Reed accused of?
Court records filed on June 28 show a Hinds County grand jury indicted Reed in connection to the March murder of Gilbreath . According to the one-page indictment, Reed allegedly killed Gilbreath "by grabbing her by the neck and slamming her head into the floor multiple times."
The next day, on March 6 — 11 weeks shy of her 52nd birthday , Gilbreath was pronounced dead at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
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According to previous Clarion Ledger reporting and police statements, Reed was experiencing what hospital officials called a “psychiatric episode” when he attacked Gilbreath.
Bell said the defense stance is insanity at the time of the alleged crime, citing Reed has an "extensive family history of mental illness" including a grandmother who was a patient in the Texas State hospital system and disappeared in the 1970s. He also had an aunt who died in a state hospital.
In addition to Reed's family mental health history, court filings show Reed’s 16-year-long documented history of mental illness.
Medical records documented in court filings show Reed having a history of “schizoaffective disorder — bipolar type (Unstable),” “suicidal ideations,” “alcohol abuse,” “anxiety disorder” and a “personal history of traumatic brain injury."
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Additionally, an exhibit in court records filed by Bell illustrated a timeline of Reed’s psychiatric history, showing a number of inpatient hospital admissions for treatment of mental illness dating back to 2008 when Reed was approximately 20 years old. Medical records in court filings also show Reed had been admitted more than five times for psychiatric treatment near the Gulfport-Biloxi area, not in Hinds County.
On March 2-3, Reed stayed overnight at Ochsner Medical Center Emergency Room in Bay St. Louis. And on March 3, two days before the assault, an ambulance transported Reed 200 miles from the emergency room in Bay St. Louis to Merit Health in Jackson.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Merit Health murder suspect David Reed to be placed in state hospital. See judge's remarks
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