EVERETT — A young mother’s slaying in 2013 will go unprosecuted after state doctors concluded that the suspect remains too delusional to assist his lawyer.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Matt Hunter recently was forced to drop the first-degree murder charge against Anthony Garver, a man living with schizophrenia, who has been held at a state psychiatric hospital for more than a year.
All attempts to restore Garver’s competency have failed. Doctors have tried numerous psychotropic medications but Garver, 27, continues to be delusional and paranoid. He reports hallucinations and claims he’s living in a parallel universe, court papers show.
He hasn’t made any progress and doctors wrote that they are doubtful any additional treatment would affect his “delusional beliefs and psychotic symptoms.”
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Joseph Wilson last week dismissed the murder charge and ordered that Garver be held at the hospital for an evaluation, giving prosecutors time to file a petition to have Garver civilly committed at Western State Hospital.
Prosecutors expect to be notified if he there is any change.
“Our intention would be to refile the charge if he ever regains competency,” Snohomish County chief deputy prosecutor Joan Cavagnaro said.
Garver is accused of repeatedly stabbing Phillipa Evans-Lopez, 20. The slain mother was found June 17, 2013, bound to a bed in her Lake Stevens rental home. Her throat had been cut.
Prosecutors allege that Garver’s DNA was found on the electrical cords used to bind Evans-Lopez to the bed.
Garver denied killing Evans-Lopez when confronted by police. He told detectives his DNA was in the house because he helped her move furniture.
Prosecutors have not released a motive for the killing. The pair may have just met the day before at an Everett McDonald’s.
Garver has a long history of mental illness. He was convicted in 2006 of threatening to blow up government building in Spokane. Two years later federal prosecutors tried to have him committed to a state psychiatric hospital, citing doctors who concluded Garver was a danger.
He was convicted in 2009 of federal charges after he was found with 100 rounds of ammunition. His stay at a psychiatric hospital at the age of 16 made it illegal for him to have ammunition.
His defense attorney in that case reported that Garver had been severely abused by his stepfather and often found himself homeless.
At the time of the killing in Lake Stevens, Garver was being sought on state and federal arrest warrants. He had been wanted for more than a month for failing to report to his community corrections officer in Spokane.
He was picked up at an Everett McDonald’s after somebody recognized him from a photograph that police had been circulating. He allegedly was using a laptop computer taken from the victim’s home. He also was carrying a blood-stained knife.
Garver was held without bail and his case stalled over his inability to work with his lawyers. Over time, questions mounted about his mental health.
A few months after he was charged with murder he filed a four-page, handwritten motion detailing his claim that he couldn’t work with his assigned public defender, creating a situation that violates his constitutional rights. He was assigned a new lawyer.
Garver also had refused medication in the past and a judge signed an order to forcibly medicate him if necessary.
Evans-Lopez grew up in Woodinville, according to her obituary. Her son was just 3 years old when she was killed. She loved people, music and Facebook.
“She prided herself on the fact that her friends often confided in her in their time of need,” the obituary said. “She lived her life with a no-fear mentality and had a wonderful sense of humor that was accompanied by an amazing laugh. We will always remember her infectious smile and her loving and caring personality.”
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley.
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