A cannibal who allegedly cooked and ate a man’s body parts could be executed after psychiatrists declared him sane and fit for trial.
Authorities in Idaho, in the US, were shocked when the case first emerged last year.
Since then, a succession of mental evaluations have taken place until it was finally determined he was not insane.
The Bonner County Daily Bee reports the man is charged with first-degree murder and cannibalism.
James David Russell, 40, has been deemed mentally fit to stand trial on the charges stemming from the September 10 murder and suspected cannibalism of David Flaget.
The paper reports that since October 7, Russell has been involuntarily committed to the Idaho Security Medical Program, which is an offshoot of the Idaho Department of Corrections.
He underwent a string of intensive psychological and psychiatric tests and examinations to ensure he is mentally competent enough to understand and participate in court proceedings.
The paper now reveals that on April 5, First District Magistrate Judge Tera Harden received a competency evaluation from Doctor of Psychology Kimberly Smith determining that Russell is now mentally able to participate in the court process.
Harden said: “The report indicates that the defendant is now fit to proceed.
“The Idaho Department of Corrections is requesting that the defendant be transported back to the Bonner County Jail prior to the status hearing and arraignment on the amended complaint (a cannibalism charge now included).”
Russell is currently detained in the Bonner County Jail and will make an initial appearance in Magistrate Court on Friday.
He is the primary suspect in the September 10 murder of David Flaget, 70, the groundsman for the Russell family property where Russell was temporarily staying at the time.
In December, Bonner County Detective Phillip Stella said: “Flaget had several conflict-like run-ins with Russell and told the family about them.
“The family had enough warning signs that Mr Russell was a danger to himself or others.”
The Bee reports Flaget was killed near the Old Field House in Clark Fork and a member of the Russell family found him in his own truck, dead. It was parked on the family property.
Russell initially fled Bonner County sheriff’s deputies and initiated a brief standoff before allowing himself to be apprehended in the building he was known to stay in.
Various pieces of evidence suggesting cannibalism were discovered by sheriff’s deputies including a bloodied microwave, and portions of flesh found within, and outside of, the building where Russell would stay, the paper says.
Russell has apparently made only one statement to law enforcement which he repeated. He said: “It’s private property and we don’t like non-family on it.”
The maximum penalty for cannibalism is 14 years incarceration. First-degree murder charges can see a maximum sentence of life in prison or the possibility of the death penalty.
East Idaho News reported that investigators could not locate one of Flaget’s testicles, his penis and a portion of the thigh that was removed from his body.
As a result, they wrote in their probable cause affidavit that they believe Russell ate the missing body parts.
It is also being claimed in court documents that Russell once told his family he wanted to “cut chunks of his skin off with a knife” to “cure his brain”.
