SALT LAKE CITY, July 27 (UPI) -- A Utah judge has ruled 51-year-old Brian Mitchell is mentally incompetent to stand trial for the abduction of a 14-year-old as a second wife in 2002.
In a 60-page ruling, District Judge Judith Atherton said although Mitchell, 51, understood the charges against him and the potential penalties, he lacked the ability to communicate with his lawyer, engage in legal strategies and maintain appropriate courtroom behavior.
Ten times between December and July 7, Mitchell was removed from the courtroom for singing hymns or shouting commands and warnings containing biblical references.
Mitchell will be held the Utah State Hospital in Provo for treatment aimed at restoring his competency, the Deseret Morning News said.
Mitchell is accused of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart from her bedroom in June 2002. With his wife, Wanda Barzee, the couple took Smart as a second wife and took her from a foothills hideout to San Diego and then back to Salt Lake City, where the three were spotted walking along a street nine months after Smart's disappearance.
