Hatchet Slinging Suspect Found Competent to Stand Trial

MARSHALL — A man accused of attacking multiple people at a Marshall Walmart with a hatchet has been found competent to stand trial. According to KETK, that information is included in a report filed July 8 by Dr. Barbara Beadles, a competency program staff psychiatrist at the North Texas State Hospital in Vernon. The suspect is Christopher Lynn Hamilton, 28, of Crawford, Arkansas. According to a trial competency evaluation document, Hamilton understood the possible outcomes following his competency test: going back to jail and trial or going back to the hospital. Hamilton had been ordered March 31 to Rusk State Hospital, where he was to spend no more than 120 days. According to the Marshall News Messenger, that order was based on a psychologist’s opinion that Hamilton wasn’t competent to stand trial.

The attacks occurred last December. Marshall police Detective Sonya Johnson said that Hamilton, termed a transient, allegedly had the hatchet with him when entering the store. Two female workers and a male shopper were attacked. Both store employees received minor injuries. The customer was slightly hurt trying to help the workers, and he didn’t seek medical help. Officials say Hamilton fled the store following the attack and was found in a wooded area near the store.