Competency Exam Ordered for Accused Crock-Pot Killer

A Michigan woman accused of killing her friend with a Crock-Pot will undergo a competency exam, a judge ruled Thursday in Livonia’s 16th District Court.

Tewana Sullivan, 50, of Detroit had been charged with assault with intent to murder, but the charges were upgraded to first-degree murder after the victim, Cheryl Livy, 66, died of injuries sustained when she severely beaten with the slow cooker, the Observer & Eccentric reports.

The assault took place at the McNamara Towers in Livonia last month, the Detroit Free Press reports. It’s unclear what started the argument between the two women, who police described as close and friends said often traveled together.

Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Trisha Gerard asked for the competency exam after discovering Sullivan had medical and psychiatric issues in the past. “There are many, many red flags here,” Gerard said.

Sullivan’s attorney, John McWilliams, argued against the competency hearing, saying defendants are rarely found unfit to stand trial in such exams. But District Judge Sean Kavanagh said that if a competency exam isn’t performed before the case moves to Wayne County Circuit Court in Detroit, it could be remanded back to the district court.

Friends of Sullivan who attended Thursday’s proceedings described her as “troubled” but charming. Debbie Mackey, who lives at the apartment complex where Livy was killed, said she was stunned when she heard the accusations against the defendant because Sullivan and Livy were close and even went on vacations together.

Sullivan, who is being held in the Wayne County Jail without bond, will appear in court on Jan. 15 after competency testing is completed. If convicted of first-degree murder, she faces up to life in prison.

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