Thursday, 4:30 PM
After 5 weeks in hospital, man accused of strangling cousin, 6, sent for more competency tests
(Globe file photos)
By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff
A 20-year-old Weymouth man charged with rape and murder in the strangling of his 6-year-old cousin was sent back Bridgewater State Hospital today for more tests to determine whether he is competent to stand trial.
Ryan Bois stood in Quincy District Court in a light gray prison jumpsuit and said little during the 10-minute proceeding. He is accused of raping Joanna Mullin at her grandmother's home on Aug. 5 and fleeing in the grandmother's sport utility vehicle with the girl's naked body wrapped in a blanket.
The decision today by Judge Diane E Moriarty to send Bois back to the hospital has postponed his arraignment in Norfolk Superior Court, which had been scheduled for Monday.
Bois was first sent to the hospital on Aug. 7. It is not clear why the staff did not complete a competency evaluation. Mental health evaluations are not public record and are viewed only by the judge and the defense attorney.
Robert Nelson, an assistant Norfolk district attorney, said after the hearing that the judge told him the evaluation deemed Bois a suicide risk. An arrest report released shortly after the slaying said Bois screamed for officers to kill him as he was taken into custody. A full competency evaluation is not expected until Oct. 1, Nelson said.
The only spectators at today’s hearing were four friends of Bois, who declined to give their names because of the horrific crime of which he is accused.
"I knew he wasn’t right in the head, but I could never image he’d do something like that," said an 18-year-old woman who has known him for four years. "He was my best friend."
