Boulder stabbing suspect to be sent to state hospital

Mitchell Byars, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.
·2 min read

Aug. 24—A Boulder man accused of stabbing his brother in 2019 will now be evaluated at the state hospital after not cooperating with attempts to evaluate him at the Boulder County Jail.

Franz Sequoya Collom, 56, is charged with attempted second-degree murder and first-degree assault with a deadly weapon causing serious bodily injury.

Collom's case had been stalled over several years because of competency concerns. At a hearing in May, defense attorney Nicole Collins said she had filed a sealed motion raising new concerns about Collom's competency and asked for an evaluation.

Collom objected and asked his case be set for trial, but Boulder District Judge Thomas Mulvahill said there was enough evidence in the motion to seek an evaluation.

Attorneys hoped to do the evaluation while Collom was in custody at the Boulder County Jail due to ongoing delays at the Colorado Mental Health Institute of Pueblo. But at a hearing Wednesday, officials said Collom was not cooperating with evaluators and twice this week refused to be in court so Mulvahill could talk to him about the process.

Mulvahill said doctors were recommending Collom be transferred to Pueblo so he could be monitored and evaluated.

While Mulvahill and Collins said it was not ideal given the situation at the state hospital, it appeared to be the only option going forward.

"He'll have to get in line, and it's a slow-moving line and a long line," Mulvahill said of the wait to get into the state hospital.

Mulvahill set the case for an evaluation on Nov. 28.

"We'll all keep our fingers crossed that Mr. Collom makes it to the state hospital in time for there to be a meaningful evaluation," Mulvahill said.

Boulder police arrested Collom on Jan. 29, 2019, at his home on the 1400 block of Kalmia Avenue. He is accused of stabbing his brother, Nathaniel Collom, in the chest, puncturing one of his lungs.

Nathaniel Collom told the Daily Camera that his brother was trying to kill him following an argument about some possessions in the house.

Another woman was in the house at the time of the incident but was not injured.

Police said Franz Collom alternated between denying stabbing his brother and saying he did so in self-defense.