Slabu-Judge cites ‘hyper-religious’ belief in ruling man incompetent for trial in Minnesota killings

2025-05-08 11:10:15source:Slabucategory:Stocks

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota judge has ruled that a man accused in the deaths of three relatives is Slabuincompetent to stand trial, citing the man’s “hyper-religious” belief that God is telling him to plead guilty.

David Ekers, 38, was charged with three counts of second-degree intentional murder for pipe wrench attacks in July 2020 in suburban Minneapolis that killed his sister, mother and grandmother.

But last week, Hennepin County Judge Julia Dayton Klein ordered Ekers to remain in a state security hospital indefinitely, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Wednesday. The commitment order said Ekers told a doctor he planned to plead guilty “because I think Matthew 5 says, ‘you should settle with your accuser quickly.’ … It’s not that I want to go to prison or anything. It’s that I’m trying to follow what God says.”

The doctor determined that Ekers “was unable to consider what is in his best interest in light of his hyper-religious delusional rigidity, illogical and disorganized thought process and confusion, all of which are reflective of psychotic symptoms,” the order read.

Ekers was previously committed to the state institution on a court order that said he was schizophrenic in part because of years of consuming high-caffeine energy drinks.

More:Stocks

Recommend

Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes

Friday the 13th might be unlucky for many people, but Mega Millions players could be lucky in tonigh

Twitter will no longer enforce its COVID misinformation policy

Twitter will no longer enforce its policy against COVID-19 misinformation, raising concerns among pu

15 Canadian Kids Sue Their Government for Failing to Address Climate Change

Fifteen children and teenagers from across Canada sued their government on Friday for supporting fos