James Thompson, (Hall County Department of Corrections, Courtesy)
GRAND ISLAND – An Ohio man accused of fatally stabbing a Missouri man and seriously stabbing the man’s wife is still not competent to stand trial.
Hall County District Judge Andrew Butler made the ruling April 11 after James D. Thompson, Jr., 22, of Elyria, Ohio, had been examined at the Lincoln Regional Center.
Prosecutors are Hall County Attorney Marty Klein and Michael Jensen of the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, Deputy Hall County Public Defender Jeff Loeffler is representing Thompson.
Butler ordered that Thompson remain at the Lincoln Regional Center. The matter was continued to 8:30 a.m. June 10. The defendant can appear by Zoom for that court hearing.
Thompson was charged June 20 with 11 felonies including first-degree murder in the stabbing death of a Missouri man and severe stabbing of his wife at the westbound Interstate 80 rest area at mile marker 316.
Thompson was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, five counts of using a deadly weapon to commit a felony, first-degree assault, two counts of attempted robbery, and operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest (willfully reckless).
He was attempting to steal a Jeep that was being pulled behind an RV camper.
Gary Weaver, 72, of Eureka, Mo., was pronounced dead at the hospital. His wife, Mary Weaver, 71, suffered life-threatening injuries and was in critical condition at the hospital, according to the Hall County Sheriff. She was later released from the hospital.
