Shawnee County District Judge Steven Ebberts on Thursday tentatively scheduled a hearing to be held at 3 p.m. June 9 regarding whether Jon K. Ewing is mentally competent to be tried on charges that include first-degree murder.
Ebberts said he could decide that day whether to order a psychiatric evaluation for Ewing, 61, of Scranton.
Ewing faces charges that include first-degree murder linked to the killing of his former girlfriend, 58-year-old Deborah Ann Stephens, who died April 27 at her mobile home just south of Topeka.
Court records say video from a security camera Stephens had set up at her home showed her being struck about the head by an ax wielded by Ewing.