New ruling on the mental health of Richland Fred Meyer murder suspect

The accused Richland Fred Meyer shooter Aaron C. Kelly is competent to be tried for murder, a Tri-Cities judge has ruled.

Benton County Superior Court Judge Diana Ruff said Kelly’s defense team was close to proving that he still needs more treatment but in the end she found he can understand and help his attorneys after taking his court-ordered medications for six months.

“He was close, but it did not tip the scale, did not prove by a preponderance of evidence that he is incompetent,” Ruff said in court late Tuesday afternoon. “I do believe at this time, he is capable of rationally assisting his legal counsel in the defense of his case.”

It’s been a year since Kelly allegedly shot and killed Justin Krumbah, an Instacart worker he didn’t know, and wounded a Fred Meyer employee.

In court on Tuesday, Krumbah’s relatives were smiling after Ruff’s decision.

Kelly is expected to enter pleas next week to first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, and a trial date will be set.

‘Delusional beliefs’

Kelly was being treated at Eastern State Hospital in Medical Lake. This week, he was in the courtroom in person for the first time in months. He didn’t speak when Ruff explained her decision.

Ruff’s ruling followed a four-hour hearing when defense attorneys tried to show that his delusions were interfering with their ability to communicate with him.

“The issue is that he obtains and contains these delusional beliefs that get in the way of him being able to accurately assess what his decision is and be able to accurately make an important decision,” said his attorney Karla Kane.

“He doesn’t even currently believe, because of his delusions, that someone died on this particular day,” she argued.

Defense and prosecution experts testified that Kelly has improved since he was required in August to take medications, and that he would continue to improve if he stays on the prescription.

They noted that people can still have a mental illness and be able to face charges.

They also agreed that Kelly understood the proceedings and the roles of his attorneys, the prosecutors and the judge.

They differed, however, on whether the lingering effects of his schizophrenia will hamper his ability to help his attorneys in his defense.

Defense attorney expert Daniel Lord-Flynn said he’s still firmly engaged with the belief that there is an “entity” that is influencing events around him.

His paranoia is driven by the belief if he shares information it will be used by the “entity” against him, Lord-Flynn testified. He also believes they can read his mind.

Kelly’s beliefs extend to thinking that this group of intelligence agencies fabricated the shooting.

Eastern State Hospital evaluator Richard Yocum wasn’t allowed to interview Kelly about the specifics of his delusions, but he believed Kelly was able to tune out the background noise they create.

Kelly also told Yocum that he would rely on his defense attorneys to see if his symptoms were getting worse.

Deputy Prosecutor Brandon Pang argued that Kelly was able to ask thoughtful questions as part of the hearing that required him to take medication. He said Kelly appeared nearly competent at the time.

Fred Meyer shooting

Kelly is accused of walking into the Fred Meyer on Wellsian Way about 11 a.m. on Feb. 7, 2022. He had a brief conversation with Krumbah and shot him, according to investigators.

Kelly then shot and wounded store employee Mark Hill, 56, three times near the customer service desk, according to court documents.

Kelly stayed in the store for a few minutes before leaving and eventually emptying his bank account and heading out of town.

He was arrested 11 hours later driving on Interstate 90 near southwest of Spokane in Eastern Washington.

Troubled history

For much of his life, Kelly didn’t have problems with mental illness, Lord-Flynn told Ruff. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English, and then got a master’s in mathematics.

“He started out life as a highly functional individual,” the forensic psychologist said. “He is definitely a very intelligent individual.”

He worked as a high school teacher in Texas but started having problems after he was invited to go to Portland by one of his former Texas A&M professors. He didn’t get settled there before leaving and moving in with his parents in Couer d’Alene, Idaho.

He worked on a piecemeal basis doing technical writing. His mother noticed he was becoming more suspicious, believing that someone was hacking into his computer.

At one point a relative suggested that the CIA was involved, and he “caught that idea and seemed to go with it,” Lord-Flynn said.

His parents eventually asked him to leave, and he did. Finding himself moving into a Airbnb that was being rented out in west Pasco.

Kelly’s behavior and inability to pay rent became a problem that eventually forced the owner of the home to sell his house to get him out.

From then on Kelly was living in his car. When his parents visited him, they rented a hotel room for him to stay in, but Lord-Flynn said he would often just continue staying in his car.

This was part of his belief that a shadowy organization made up of intelligence agencies was influencing events. At some points, he believed everyone in the Tri-Cities was part of the conspiracy.

Attorneys and experts have not said publicly if there are any known connections between his paranoia and the shooting.

Eastern State Hospital

Since his first evaluation in June, Eastern State Hospital psychologists have consistently described Kelly as guarded.

He would often answer questions with “no comment,” and refused to take anything stronger than a multivitamin.

Judge Joe Burrowes ordered him to take anti-psychotic medication to treat what has now been determined to be schizophrenia.

Both experts believed it could take six months or more for the medication to start taking effect.

While both Lord-Flynn and Yocum said his guarded responses continued as his medication was adjusted. Yocum evaluated him again in a more than two-hour interview.

He used a different approach, and while Kelly refused to answer some questions, he responded to others.

When Yocum interviewed him again in December, Kelly was much more cooperative.

“In the previous evaluation, he would take long pauses before answering the questions,” Yocum said. “And the second evaluation, he would occasionally take pauses, but my experience and observation that was in processing his thoughts and not so much psychotic disorder.”

Lord-Flynn testified that those pauses are based on him being careful in relaying information because he’s concerned that the “entity” might use it. He suggested those delusions would interfere with his ability to speak with his attorneys.

“I have been able to establish some rapport with him, but granted he’s still very guarded with me, and he’s still, I think, probably uncertain whether I am genuine,” he said.

Yocum suggested that Kelly’s ability to communicate with his attorneys and Lord-Flynn suggested that he appears to trust them, and that his psychotic symptoms are improving.