Today, a mistrial was declared in the rape-murder case of Patricia Smith. The defense team for Alexander Christopher Ewing filed a motion early this morning. They argued that Ewing “was not competent to stand trial.”
That motions will remain sealed until further notice. This does mean that the content is not public and therefore, we do not know what arguments were brought forward by the defense related to Ewing’s state of mind.
Before we know what comes next or, what should come next, Ewing needs to be evaluated.
At the moment, there is no further information available about what type of assessment will be applied, where, and by which authority.
To be continued.
The Case
Patricia Louise Smith (50) was born on Sept 19, 1933. She was murdered on Jan 10, 1984 by an at that time unknown person who raped and killed her inside her Lakewood (Colorado) home.
Patricia’s murder is connected to the 1984 Bennett Family murders in Aurora, Colorado. Six days after Patricia was raped and murdered, the same suspect murdered the Bennett Family.
In Aug 2018, Alexander Christopher Ewing (then 57) was accused in both cases. On Dec 4, 2018, a Nevada judge ordered Ewing’s extradition to Colorado. He appealed that decision. On Nov 22, 2019, his appeal was denied by the Nevada Supreme Court. The US Supreme Court did not intervene so Ewing was extradited to Colorado.
All court dates were postponed due to Covid-19. The trial in the Bennett case finally started in the summer of 2021. On Aug 6, 2021 a jury found Alexander Christopher Ewing guilty on all charges.