Broomfield Ax Killing Trial Stayed: Judge Rules Doll Incompetent

BROOMFIELD, CO -- Instead of a criminal murder trial that could lead to the death penalty, Emanuel Doll, 26, accused of killing his four-year-old nephew with an ax, will be committed to the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo until he is fit to stand trial.

Judge Michael Goodbee stayed the criminal case in a written ruling Sunday. The case can proceed when Doll is competent to understand his trial, according to a press release from the 17th Judicial District.

The judge and court heard testimony from a number of experts during Doll's competency hearings in February. Scott Walmer, forensic psychiatrist with Parkview Medical Center, said Doll was exhibiting signs of schizophrenia.

Walker said Doll, 25, suffered from delusions, including that his sperm was stolen and as a result his nephew was actually his son, that the FBI was spying on him and that there was a "mental server" in his brain that spoke in different voices.

Doll is accused of first-degree murder after allegedly killing his nephew, Jace Emmanuel Higginbotham, 4, with an ax in the basement of his parents' home in the 4200 block of West 136th Avenue. Jace was the child of Doll's twin sister. The child was being watched for the day by his grandparents in the house also inhabited by Doll. Police described finding a bloodied ax next to a child's body which had "massive amount of trauma."

Doll's next date in court is March 19.

Image via Broomfield Police