BOISE — A new development in the case of a Nampa man accused of killing two people last January in Ontario, Oregon.
A judge hit the pause button on the murder trial saying 49-year old Anthony Montwheeler was unfit to stand trial.
Malheur County District Attorney David Goldthorpe said this doesn't take away the criminal case, it just means the trial is on hold for the time being.
Montwheeler's charges stem from the alleged kidnapping of his ex-wife Anita Harmon.
Police say he stabbed and killed her outside of a gas station in Ontario, put her inside of his Dodge pickup truck and then crashed into another car a short time later during a police pursuit. David Bates, 38, died in that crash.
Montwheeler had been in and out of state hospitals for a period of 20 years prior to those deaths.
Earlier this year, a state hospital found Montwheeler mentally unfit to stand trial.
Goldthorpe says he argued against that evaluation because he believes the evaluation showed that Montwheeler understood enough about the process and could aid and assist his attorneys.
He says he also brought in evidence showing that Montwheeler admitted to faking mental illness in the past.
But, a judge sided with the doctor evaluation to send the 49-year-old off to rehabilitation.
“Essentially this is like a pause button in the process,” Goldthorpe said. “For example, for now, our trial dates are still remaining for the fall of ‘19. The judge won’t remove those unless they look unpracticable. But what happens is he'll be at the hospital for an undetermined amount of time.”
The DA says depending on Montwheeler's treatment and progress, they should receive a report from the hospital within 90 days.
A doctor diagnosed Montwheeler with adjustment disorder with depressed mood, which the DA says the doctor described as something less than mild depression.