SALT LAKE CITY - A judge on Tuesday found a homeless man competent to stand trial in the kidnapping of teenager Elizabeth Smart, bringing an early end to what had been expected to be a three-day hearing to gauge Brian Mitchell's mental state.
Salt Lake County District Attorney David Yocom said he and Mitchell's lead defense attorney, Kim Clark, had been in negotiations over waiving the competency hearing. Prosecutors said Mitchell's lawyers had developed evidence of his competency over the past few months.
Clark, who didn't speak to reporters outside the courtroom, said during Tuesday's hearing that it was a 'tactical decision' the defense reached after a judge ruled the competency proceedings would be open.
The defense had sought to close the hearing, arguing that media reports concerning Mitchell's mental state would taint the jury pool if he were found competent.
Clark told The Associated Press last week that keeping the hearing open 'will completely affect how we decide to handle it.'
A handcuffed Mitchell, wearing a shaggy gray and black beard and long, dark hair, did not speak during Tuesday's hearing but nodded twice when Judge Judith Atherton asked if he agreed with the decision, and understood what it meant.
Yocom would not say whether there were plea negotiations under way.
Mitchell, 50, and wife Wanda Barzee, 58, are both charged with kidnapping the then-14-year-old from her bedroom at knifepoint in 2002 and keeping her for nine months in Utah and California.
The two face kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, aggravated burglary and attempted aggravated kidnapping charges. The couple has been in custody since Elizabeth was found with them along a suburban street in March 2003.
Mitchell was reportedly motivated by a 'revelation from God' to take and detain Elizabeth in the Wasatch foothills just a few miles from her home, according to court documents.
Barzee has been twice deemed incompetent to stand trial in January, and is undergoing treatment at a state mental hospital. She is scheduled to be re-evaluated in August 2005.
The two court-appointed experts who have evaluated Mitchell 'are not close to being in agreement' over his competency, Atherton has said.
The only point the two experts could agree on, Atherton said, was that Mitchell _ a self-proclaimed prophet _ has a narcissistic delusion. The differences boil down to his willingness or ability to assist his defense.
The process has been delayed by Mitchell's refusal to cooperate with evaluators, who have reached their conclusions by talking to Mitchell's friends and family.
Legal incompetence means a person is prevented by mental illness or other ailment from understanding the charges against them or aiding in their defense.