BURLINGTON — A doctor has found that Aita Gurung, who police say killed his wife and tried to kill his mother-in-law with a meat cleaver in October, is fit to stand trial, according to news reports.
Witnesses told police they saw Gurung strike his wife, Yogeswari Kahdka, 32, repeatedly with the cleaver in the driveway of their home in October. Kahdka’s mother Tulasa Rimal, 54, was found slumped in the entryway of their home with severe injuries to her head, according to a police affidavit. Khadka was pronounced dead at the scene, and Rimal survived and is now recovering.
During his arraignment in October, Gurung pleaded not guilty to both charges and was ordered to undergo a competency and sanity evaluation.
During a hearing Tuesday, state prosecutors said a doctor has found Gurung fit to stand trial, but Sandra Lee, a public defender who is serving as Gurung’s lawyer, said she would raise the sanity issue as defense, according to a Burlington Free Press report. Lee had filed the insanity defense notice with the court in late December, according to the Free Press.
Lee could not agree or disagree with the doctor’s determination during the hearing, according to the Free Press. Lee said she would decide by a Jan. 19 hearing if she will challenge the competency evaluation. Gurung has been held at the Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital in Berlin since October.
Gurung had no criminal record prior to the October incident. Days before the alleged killing, police said Gurung sought mental health treatment at the University of Vermont Medical Center. He was released at his own request, according to police.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Doctor: Cleaver attack murder suspect fit to stand trial.
