Man Charged With Killing Beggar On MARTA Is Mentally Ill: Lawyer

DECATUR, GA — The lawyer for a man accused of stabbing and killing a panhandler on a MARTA train in Decatur says his client is mentally ill.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that an attorney for Charles Richey, 49, is asking that he be found incompetent to stand trial for the crime. Richey is charged with murder in the Jan. 24 stabbing death of Damilola Azuana, 41, who was asking riders for money on a train near the Avondale MARTA station.

According to police, Richey, a mechanic, told Azuana he works too hard to give away his money and taunted the man before grabbing him, wrestling him to the floor and stabbing him.

According to the AJC, attorney Darlyn Queen said Richey has "moderate intellectual disability, unspecified bipolar with related disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder" in court records.

Queen goes on to say Richey doesn't fully understand his legal condition and can't help in his defense. DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Mark Anthony Scott ordered an evaluation of Richey be conducted.

Richey has been held in DeKalb County Jail without bond since his arrest shortly after the stabbing.

To read the full report from the AJC, click here.

Photo via DeKalb County Sheriff's Office