A 32-year-old Freeland man accused of murdering his mother will undergo an evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial.

The arraignment hearing for Justin Wiener was rescheduled twice since his Nov. 17 arrest for allegedly stabbing 53-year-old Brenda Wiener to death in an RV they both lived in. Prosecutors charged Wiener in Island County Superior Court Nov. 20 with murder in the first degree. The judge set his bail at $1 million.

Wiener’s arraignment set for Dec. 4 was continued because the county’s public defense office failed to assign him an attorney because of a miscommunication, a prosecutor said in court.

On Dec. 11, Matt Montoya, the county’s public defender, appeared in court as Wiener’s attorney. He asked the judge to continue arraignment again so that Wiener could be evaluated by a mental health expert to see if he is competent to stand trial. The expert will determine if he has a rational and factual understanding of the charges and if he is able to assist his attorney in his own defense.

If Wiener is found not competent, the state will be ordered to provide psychiatric services at a treatment facility. Wiener would have to be reevaluated and then would face prosecution if and when his competency is considered to be restored.

The process of determining if a defendant is competent is different than evaluations for an insanity defense. In an insanity defense, the defense has to show a defendant was unable to perceive the nature or quality of the act with which he or she is charged or that the defendant was unable to perceive the difference between right and wrong at the time the crime was committed.

While a successful claim of insanity results in acquittal, a declaration of incompetence merely delays a trial or results in dismissal of a case without prejudice — which means it can be brought back.

Wiener appeared at the court hearings over video from the jail. He appeared unmoved and perhaps confused by the proceedings.

A report by a deputy with the Island County Sheriff’s Office describes the bizarre allegations in the case. After allegedly killing his mother, Wiener walked to the Nichols Bros. Boat Builders office with blood on his hands and pants and told employees that he had committed a crime, the report states.

Wiener later started to cry and told a deputy that “there’s no one on the face of the world he loves more” than his mother, the report states. He said he originally planned to commit suicide after killing his mother but instead decided he was going to accept whatever “is coming my way,” the deputy wrote.