Homicide suspect ordered back to psychiatric hospital

Published 1:30 am Saturday, July 9, 2016

EVERETT — Tammy Sheary’s sobs rose up, filling the mostly-empty courtroom. The defeat was there in the slump of her shoulders.

As she folded and refolded a tissue in her hands, Sheary estimated that she’s attended upwards of 100 court hearings since her boy’s death in 2002.

Thursday’s hearing crashed down on her particularly hard. It ripped through any hope that she wouldn’t have to return to the courthouse, any hope that old wounds wouldn’t be reopened, and any reassurances that this part was finally over.

“Up until this point I felt strong. I feel so weak,” Sheary said Thursday. “Every bit of wind was taken out of my sail. It feels like it devalued my son’s life.”

Brady Sheary was just 18 when he was beaten and stabbed to death. His body was discovered in the parking lot of Cedarcrest School in Marysville.

Prosecutors allege that Todd Brodahl, then 18, is responsible for the killing. They have attempted multiple times to bring him to trial, but Brodahl, who lives with schizoaffective disorder, hasn’t been well enough to assist his lawyers with his own defense. He has spent the better part of 14 years confined to Western State Hospital.

Snohomish County Superior Court Judge George Bowden on Thursday shut down the latest efforts by prosecutors to try Brodahl for second-degree murder. Bowden dismissed the charge against Brodahl, saying that recent attempts to restore the defendant’s competency were fruitless. He ordered Brodahl to be detained at Western State Hospital and to undergo an evaluation for potential civil commitment.

The facts of the case, as related in the charging documents, detail a brutal homicide, the judge said. “But to hold someone accountable, to go to trial the defendant must be competent.”

Brodahl is no further along to participate at a trial than he was a decade ago, Bowden said. He continues to hear voices and to report hallucinations. The judge said he has no confidence that Western State Hospital will be able to effect change in Brodahl’s condition in the near future.

Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Elise Deschenes had requested that Brodahl undergo another three months of restoration treatment.

“There has been improvement, and there is potential for more improvement,” she said.

It wasn’t clear if the pain medications Brodahl was prescribed for a broken foot were hampering his ability to assist his defense attorney, Deschenes said.

Tammy Sheary questioned why the judge wouldn’t give it another three months. What harm would come of it? Didn’t her family deserve the judge’s patience?

“To me, what Judge Bowden did is give him his walking papers,” she said. “I need a trial or I need (Brodahl) to admit his guilt.”

She and her family crave that finality, maybe even more than seeing Brodahl locked up in prison. There is a sense that he’s been able to skirt the system, Sheary said. That hangs over her head, creating anguish beyond the loss of her son.

“I believe he knows right from wrong,” she said.

Public defender Natalie Tarantino said Thursday that Brodahl’s condition is worse than she has seen it in years. Any stability that he’d gained while under civil commitment in recent years was gutted by this last go-round in the courts, Tarantino said.

Prosecutors twice before charged Brodahl with murder only to dismiss the charges because he wasn’t able to assist with his own defense and restoration efforts didn’t work.

Prosecutors refiled the murder charge in January after learning that Western State Hospital planned to move Brodahl to a group home. He would have remained under civil commitment, but he’d stabilized enough to allow him to live in the community with strict supervision, Tarantino said.

“Movement within the civil commitment system doesn’t mean that he’s competent to stand trial. That’s comparing apples to oranges,” she said.

Prosecutors should have had him evaluated before they refiled the charge, Tarantino said.

Once the charge was filed, Brodahl was brought back to jail and another evaluation was done to determine if he was well enough to help Tarantino.

Two state psychologists in January concluded that Brodahl had made significant progress and found that he was able to assist in defending the murder charge. The mental health professionals cautioned that the Brodahl likely would need additional medication to deal with the stress of court hearings. He also would benefit from additional breaks so he could ask questions of his attorney, they wrote.

But Brodahl’s symptoms appeared to worsen in jail. Questions were raised after a Feb. 19 court hearing at which he appeared to be inattentive and on the verge of falling asleep.

A state psychiatrist attempted to evaluate Brodahl on March 11. His symptoms didn’t allow for a full exam, according to court papers. She noted that Brodahl’s mental health had declined while locked up in the county jail over the past couple of months. He was no longer able to understand the charge against him and didn’t have the ability to assist his lawyer, court papers said.

The psychiatrist reported that his worsening symptoms might be a result of the stress of the jail environment, lack of access to certain medications he was receiving in the hospital and a lack of access to exercise, mental and social stimulation. Lack of access to sugary snacks and caffeine also might be a factor, because they might counteract the sedating effects of his medications.

“The most likely cause of his deterioration is a combination of all three of the above factors, as well as the underlying progression of his diseases,” Dr. Margaret Dean wrote in her evaluation.

Bowden ordered Brodahl sent back to Western for three months for restoration treatment. Those efforts not only failed, but left her client in worse shape, Tarantino said Thursday.

“Western wasn’t proposing anything new, except a slight adjustment to the medications he’s been on for a decade,” Tarantino said. “There was no different plan.”

She expects her client will meet the criteria to be hospitalized under civil commitment. She doesn’t anticipate that Brodahl will be eligible for a less restrictive living situation, such as a supervised group home, for years because of the progression of his symptoms.

So when does this end?

“I don’t know,” Tarantino said. “If he ever is made competent, there are other issues that would have to be addressed before this went to trial, like his ability to remember events.”

There is no statute of limitations for murder. If convicted as charged, Brodahl faces up to 20 years in prison. It’s not clear if he’d be given credit for the years he’s spent hospitalized.

Deschenes said her office likely will file the murder charge again if it appears that Brodahl’s symptoms have improved.

“We’re not going to drop it, because it’s a brutal homicide,” she said. “We’re not at that point.”

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley.