Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Brent Nello Gilbert was found incompetent to stand trial for his wife's 2023 murder.
- Judge Samuel Chiara ordered treatment for Gilbert after a medical report said he has a neurocognitive disorder
- Gilbert's attorney asked for the case to be dismissed, claiming Gilbert is unlikely to be restored to competency.
DUCHESNE — A man charged with the murder of his wife was found incompetent to stand trial this week.
Eighth District Judge Samuel Chiara ruled Brent Nello Gilbert was not competent on Monday, based on a report from a medical expert who said Gilbert has a mental disorder and signed an order on Thursday requesting treatment.
Gilbert, 67, was charged in September 2023 with murder and illegal discharge of a firearm, first-degree felonies, related to the death of Stacey Gilbert. A statement from the sheriff's office said Gilbert called 911 early in the morning to report he had killed his wife.
Officers found him with knife wounds on his wrists, and he told them they were self-inflicted. Documents state his wife's body was found in the bedroom with multiple injuries from a firearm and three spent casings nearby. A 12-gauge shotgun with blood on it was found outside the bedroom door.
Johnathan Nish, Gilbert's attorney, asked the court to review his client's competency a year ago and submitted a letter from a doctor saying Gilbert had a neurodegenerative disease. The court ordered two psychiatric evaluations, both of which found that Gilbert was competent to stand trial.
However, a second report from one of the evaluators in April found Gilbert had become incompetent to stand trial. It diagnosed Gilbert with "an unspecified major neurocognitive disorder," according to an order signed by the judge on Thursday.
The order commits Gilbert to the Department of Health and Human Services for restoration services and recommends treatment at the Utah State Hospital. Gilbert will return to court for a competency review on July 22.
Nish said a previous report found there was not a substantial likelihood that Gilbert could be restored to competency, and he asked the judge to dismiss the prosecution and have Gilbert civilly committed. Nish said the jail is not an appropriate place for Gilbert.
