Overview
- Judge Randy Chapman ruled Wednesday that 18-year-old Anthony DeMayo is not competent to stand trial after state clinicians said he cannot understand the case or help his lawyer.
- The decision keeps DeMayo at Bridgewater State Hospital for treatment with a six-month reevaluation scheduled.
- Essex prosecutors said they will challenge the finding, which could move the case back into active Superior Court proceedings if a judge later deems him competent.
- A grand jury in early April indicted DeMayo on murder and home-invasion charges, and he has been held without bail since his arrest.
- Police say he broke into 68-year-old nurse Janet Swallow’s Danvers home on March 12, fatally stabbed her in a random attack, and hours later was arrested in Lynn with a blood-stained knife after allegedly confessing.