Man accused of killing couple headed home from Bike Week to have mental competency hearing
The man accused earlier this year of stabbing to death a Daytona Beach couple as they rode their bicycles home from Bike Week festivities in a vicious killing that shocked the city appeared in court Friday. A hearing will be scheduled regarding his mental competency.
Jean R. Macean, 32, of Orlando, was indicted by a grand jury earlier this year on two counts of first-degree murder with a weapon while acting with premeditation in the killings of Terry Aultman, 48, and Brenda Aultman, 55, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Macean.
The slayings put local neighbors on edge and Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young held a closed meeting and then a community meeting with residents to respond to concerns. Some of the residents said they were considering arming themselves when they took walks or rode their bicycles. And the police increased patrols in the area.
The Aultmans were stabbed repeatedly while riding their bicycles home early in the morning of March 6 after attending Bike Week festivities on Main Street, police said. The police chief described the attack as "a random senseless act of violence."
Their bodies were found at the corner of Riverview Boulevard and North Wild Olive Avenue.
Full coverage of the Aultmans' murders
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'This is a nightmare': Daughter of Daytona Beach slaying victim thanks police in search for motive
Indictment: Man accused of stabbing Daytona Beach couple to death indicted on first-degree murder
Death penalty: Bike Week double homicide: Prosecutors to seek death penalty against accused killer
Residents reassured: Daytona Beach Police Chief reassures residents
Macean, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit and handcuffs, smiled briefly at his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Jessica Roberts, as he was led into the courtroom Friday morning.
But Macean did not make any statements as he stood before Circuit Judge Elizabeth Blackburn in the courtroom at the S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona Beach.
Macean mentally incompetent?
Assistant State Attorney Andrew Urbanak asked for the hearing on Macean’s competency, according to court documents. Urbanak wrote in a motion that two experts for the defense, Dr. Julie F. Harper and Dr. Valerie McClain, had stated that Macean was incompetent to proceed. Urbanak also noted that both experts indicated that Macean’s competency could be restored through treatment.
Urbanak asked that an expert for the state, Dr. Roger Davis, examine Macean. Urbanak noted that the defense attorney did not object as long as she could be present for the evaluation.
The judge granted Urbanak's request.
Urbanak was not present at the hearing on Friday, which was attended by Assistant State Attorney Mark Interlicchio Jr.
Roberts said that she estimated the competency hearing for Macean could last about a day and a half.
The lengthy hearing suggests that the experts for the defense and prosecution disagreed on his competency.
When the experts examine Macean’s competency, they are judging whether he is able to consult with his lawyer and “have a reasonable degree of rational understanding” of the proceedings against him, according to a court document.
The analysis of Macean’s mental condition includes whether he understands the charges against him and possible penalties, his capacity to testify, his ability to disclose pertinent facts to his attorney, his courtroom behavior and his understanding of the adversarial nature of the court system.
If Judge Blackburn agrees that Macean is incompetent to proceed, the case would be put on hold while he receives medical treatment. Then, once doctors and the judge decide Macean is competent, the case would start again.
Time table for Macean's trial
Roberts also said she had depositions set for February in the case.
The judge said she would like to start setting a timeline and deadlines to move the case toward trial.
“What I would like both the state and the defense to be prepared to do at that point is start having a timeline so we know where we are headed,” Blackburn said.
The judge noted that the defense had the depositions set for early February.
“We need to get the rest of those depositions scheduled and then we can start talking about a realistic timeline for trial down the road,” Blackburn said.
Blackburn set a case management conference at 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 12.
Death penalty aggravators
State Attorney R.J. Larizza's Office listed three aggravating circumstances it believes it can prove beyond a reasonable doubt in support of the death penalty if Macean is convicted.
Prosecutors stated that the murders were "especially heinous, atrocious or cruel" and were committed "in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification."
The defendant "was previously convicted of another capital felony involving the use or threat of violence of a person."
Prosecutors typically seek this third aggravating circumstance of a prior capital felony when a person is on trial for more than one killing. If Macean is convicted of both murders, then one of the murders would be considered the prior felony involving violence.
Before his arrest in the double-slaying, Macean had only been arrested on drug offenses.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Man accused of stabbing Daytona Beach couple during Bike Week back in court
