Nearly three months after his last court hearing, doctors say a 35-year-old man accused of killing his mother is still not competent to stand trial.
Doctors believe Michael Alan Webb needs at least six months of treatment at a psychiatric hospital to be restored to competency, defense attorney J. Terry Osborne told a judge Tuesday.
Webb has been undergoing treatment for at least two months, since a judge ordered him to be restored to competency in July. A clerical error delayed his treatment by about a month, Obsorne said.
Webb, who has a criminal history dating back to his teen years, is accused of killing his 64-year-old mother, Edna Webb, at her home in Grove on May 17, according to court documents.
Police found her deceased from apparent blunt force trauma on the kitchen floor after responding to the home for a welfare check. Police were called after the woman did not appear for work that morning, documents state.
Osborne and Commonwealth’s Attorney Nathan Green appeared in front of a judge Tuesday for a preliminary hearing in the Williamsburg-James City County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. The hearing was to determine whether there is probable cause to send his case to a higher court.
The hearing was postponed after Green told the judge that doctors have not yet restored Webb to competency. Competency is typically restored through medication, therapy, hospitalization or all three. Webb did not appear in court for the hearing.
Webb did not appear in court for the hearing.
On Tuesday, Green said he had hoped Webb’s psychiatrist would send an updated report on his treatment but has not received one.
“I was optimistic, if not downright hopeful, they would send a report for the hearing today,” Green said Tuesday.
Osborne said she talked to Webb’s doctor on Sept. 26, who said he had not been restored to competency at that point. The doctor also said they were not planning to send an updated report until “at least six months elapsed,” Osborne added.
A case file dating back to 2002 in the Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court shows Webb suffers from mental health issues and committed violence against his mother several times before her death.
Civil court documents filed in the Williamsburg-James City County General District Court show a judge ordered Webb to vacate his mother’s house just two days before she was found dead in her kitchen.
Michael Webb had destroyed his mother’s property, broken house rules and threatened to kill her, court documents state.
Webb also served a 15-year prison sentence for robbing a 7-Eleven clerk in Grove, court documents state. He was sentenced in May 2002.
Documents indicate Webb had been out of prison since at least June 2016, possibly earlier. Probation released him from their supervision in February 2017.
Green asked the judge to schedule consistent status update hearings to keep the case “from getting shelved and not paid attention to.”
Webb is scheduled for a status hearing in mid-January in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
WYDaily archives were used in this story.
