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Oregon judge finds Idaho man unfit to stand trial in murders

Posted at 2:34 PM, Sep 19, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-19 16:34:32-04

An eastern Oregon judge halted a double murder case after finding the defendant mentally unfit to stand trial.

The Argus Observer reports that Circuit Judge Tom Ryan on Tuesday ordered Anthony Montwheeler transferred to the Oregon State Hospital.

Prosecutors say Montwheeler, who is from Nampa, Idaho, kidnapped and killed his ex-wife Anita Harmon last year and then crashed his car during a police pursuit.

Another man, 38-year-old David Bates, died in that crash.

A hearing has been set for Jan. 2 so Ryan can review the case.

Montwheeler was found guilty in 1996 of kidnapping his first wife and son, and spent years in state mental hospitals.

He was released in 2016 after saying he'd been faking his mental illness to avoid prison.

Harmon was murdered three weeks later.