A Lead Hill man facing two counts of capital murder isn't fit to proceed to trial, according to a document cited in Boone County Circuit Court.
Glen Froehlich, now 36, was charged in October 2015 in the shooting deaths of his mother, Helen Froehlich, 61, and Frank Simpson, 60.
A fitness-to-proceed evaluation was ordered for Glen Froehlich in January. On Dec. 5, Boone County Circuit Judge John Putman ordered Froehlich to reappear in court, noting a "report says not fit to proceed."
Froehlich is scheduled to be in court on Friday so the findings can be addressed, said David Ethredge, the prosecuting attorney for Arkansas' 14th Judicial Circuit.
"Based on those findings, the court will issue a order to address the placement of the defendant," said Ethredge.
Mental evaluations include two components: fitness to proceed and criminal responsibility. Fitness to proceed concerns the defendant's ability to understand the charges against him and communicate with his attorney.
The bodies of the two victims were found Oct. 3, 2015, after bake-sale organizers called the Boone County sheriff's office saying they hadn't been able to reach Helen Froehlich since Oct. 1.
Two weeks earlier, concerned about his "mental state," Helen Froehlich had asked her son to stop sleeping in a house that was being built on her property, according to Sheriff Mike Moore and an affidavit from Sgt. Jason Brisco with the sheriff's office.
Glen Froehlich responded by threatening her, firing a rifle into the ground and going back into the house, according to the affidavit filed in Boone County Circuit Court.
Deputies arrived, "but he ran off into the woods," Moore said.
The homicide victims were found, and Froehlich was arrested Oct. 3, 2015, after a five-hour standoff with police in which no shots were fired. The victims died a day or two before being found, according to the affidavit.
Helen Froehlich was shot while she was in bed watching television, according to the affidavit. Simpson, who lived in an apartment in the Froehlichs' barn, was shot while sitting behind a desk at a computer.
Twelve spent shell casings from a Chinese SKS 7.62x39mm rifle were found at the scene of the shootings, according to the court filing.
Two dogs at the foot of Helen Froehlich's bed had also been shot. In addition to two counts of capital murder, Glen Froehlich was charged with cruelty to animals, being a felon in possession of a firearm and being a habitual offender.
Glen Froehlich also is charged with aggravated assault over the Sept. 19, 2015, instance when he reportedly threatened his mother and fired a shot into the ground.
He pleaded innocent to all the charges. Froehlich remains in the Boone County jail with no bail set.
Metro on 12/15/2016