TACOMA, Wash. — The 27-year-old man charged with attempted murder for stabbing a woman multiple times at Point Defiance Park in February was found not competent to stand trial.
Nicholas Matthew "presents with symptoms consistent with Schizoaffective Disorder and a notable history of cannabis use," according to a forensic evaluation. The evaluation found Matthew does not have the ability to understand the nature of the proceedings against him, nor does he have the capacity to assist in his own defense.
Matthew will be placed in the custody of the Department of Social and Health Services and transferred to Western State Hospital for treatment before a trial against him can proceed. Treatment could include the involuntary administration of psychotropic medication.
On the afternoon of Feb. 10, Tacoma Police Department officers were called to the park and found a woman with multiple stab wounds. Detectives identified the attacker as Matthew and spent nearly seven weeks tracking him down - the manhunt almost ended overseas.
Court documents say detectives learned Matthew was in Georgia, but when they arrived, they found out that he was on a flight to San Francisco, hoping to flee the country.
Law enforcement officers were waiting to arrest him at the San Francisco airport before he could flee the country.
In court, prosecutors said Matthew was possibly diagnosed with mental illness in the past, including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
“His mother indicated to law enforcement that the defendant had been prescribed medication to deal with his mental illness,” Pierce County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Lisa Wagner previously stated. “He, however, refuses to take that and came to Washington specifically because he could access cannabis, which is his drug of choice to deal with his mental illness.”
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