AUGUSTA, Maine — Justice Donald Marden met Monday with the prosecutor and defense attorneys for a Gardiner man accused of killing his father to discuss whether the state will be allowed to medicate Leroy Smith III against his will to see if it will make him competent enough to stand trial.
Smith, 26, is charged with killing his father, 56-year-old Leroy Smith II, in April 2014. He then allegedly dismembered the body and placed the remains in a wooded area along a dirt road in Richmond.
In January, Marden found Smith not competent to stand trial after a forensic expert testified that Smith likely suffers from some form of severe psychiatric disorder.
Ann Leblanc, director of the State Forensic Services at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, told Marden in January that after nearly a dozen interviews with Smith, she believes he suffers from schizophrenia, paranoid schizophrenia or a delusional disorder.
Smith has refused medication since his arrest, according to his attorneys, but Leblanc said in January that if he took antipsychotic medication, “there’s a chance he would be able to be restored to competency.”
Smith did not appear on Monday. He remains at Riverview Psychiatric Center.
On Monday, Marden issued a limited order allowing Smith’s previous medical records to be viewed by attorneys “in camera,” at the Capital Judicial Center. That means attorneys may take notes but make no copies, according to Assistant Attorney General Deb Cashman.
Cashman said Monday that a hearing on the state’s motion will likely take place Dec. 1.