Accused CMU Shooter Unfit To Stand Trial: Lawyer

MOUNT PLEASANT, MI — The court-appointed attorney for the Illinois teen accused of shooting his parents to death in a Central Michigan University dorm room in March says the 19-year-old is currently unfit to stand trial. James Eric Davis Jr. was apprehended following a nearly daylong manhunt after his parents, James Eric Davis Sr. and Diva Davis, were found shot to death the morning of March 2.

CMU police said the teen used a gun belonging to his father, a police officer in a Chicago suburb and Illinois National Guard recruiter, to kill his parents.

Attorney Joshua Blanchard told MLive.com that James Eric Davis Jr. was found incompetent to stand trial on March 23 and will receive treatment in an attempt to help him regain competency.

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The teen, who grew up in Plainfield, Illinois, is charged with two counts of open murder, which includes both first- and second-degree murder, and one count of felony possession of a firearm.

Davis appeared in court via video from a Michigan hospital room last month to be formally charged.

CMU police said Davis' parents arrived at the campus early March 2 to bring him home for spring break after he was taken to a local hospital the night before. In the hours before the murders, CMU Police Chief Bill Yeagley said he had spoken with campus police twice and was behaving erratically.

Campus surveillance cameras showed Davis walking from the parking lot to his dorm building with a gun the morning of the killings, police said.

After the murders, Davis fled, sparking a 16-hour manhunt before he was spotted by an employee on a train on the CMU campus. The employee saw a person standing near the railroad tracks and, finding it suspicious, called police, who arrived within minutes and took Davis into custody.

According to her obituary, Diva Davis, 47, grew up in Gary, Indiana, and worked as a real estate broker and American Airlines flight attendant. She was also a breast cancer survivor and met her husband when they were both employed by Motorola.

Sgt. James Eric Davis Sr., 48, was deployed to serve in "Operation Iraqi Freedom" from 2003 to 2008, continuing to serve in the military as well as as a police officer after his return. "Eric persevered and earned many medals of achievement and honor. "Eric was honored in Washington D.C. by President George W. Bush in December 2008," according to his obituary.

They were the parents of three children, including James Eric Davis Jr., an older son and a younger daughter.

Image via Isabella County Sheriff's Office