Mental test ordered for woman accused of decapitating ex’s mom

A Sedgwick County judge has ordered an evaluation to determine whether Rachael Hilyard – charged in the decapitation of Micki Davis – is able to understand the charges against her or aid in her defense.

District Court Judge Jeffrey Goering on Tuesday ordered what’s known as a competency evaluation for Hilyard to be done by Comcare, the county mental health department. The evaluation will occur at the Sedgwick County Jail, where Hilyard remains on bonds totalling $550,000, district attorney’s spokesman Dan Dillon said Friday.

Hilyard, 35, is charged with first-degree murder in the April 9 decapitation of Davis, 63. One of Davis’ sons was Hilyard’s ex-boyfriend. Officers responding to a 911 call found Davis’ severed head in Hilyard’s kitchen sink.

The judge’s order says that proceedings against Hilyard are suspended while the evaluation is being done.

In late June, a judge denied Hilyard’s request for a new defense attorney after she contended that he had kept her from getting a psychological evaluation.

In May, The Eagle reported that some of the circumstances might make Hilyard sound crazy before the decapitation: She begged on social media not to have her head cut off “anymore.” She complained of feeling insane. She sought an exorcism for “evil spirits” in her house after claiming to see the Grim Reaper in a smoky haze.

Still, experts told The Eagle that Kansas has one of the nation’s most restrictive laws for citing mental illness as a defense.

The key question under state law is whether Hilyard had the “culpable mental state” – the premeditated intent to kill. That’s what a jury would have to decide.

This story was originally published August 4, 2017 at 2:14 PM with the headline "Mental test ordered for woman accused of decapitating ex’s mom."