All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Circuit Court Judge Robert Denhardt ordered a mental fitness evaluation for 53-year-old Patrick Rose during his preliminary hearing today, December 14th. The evaluation can take 60-90 days and is meant to determine whether or not Rose is fit to proceed in the court process.
He currently faces an aggravated assault and battery charge after reportedly attacking Elaine Tillman an elderly patient at SageWest Health Care in Lander on November 26th. On December 11th, it was confirmed that the Tillman passed away at a Utah hospital on December 9th.
During today’s preliminary hearing, it was shared that there is reasonable cause to believe that Rose has “mental deficiencies.” While concerns about the amount of time it takes for an evaluation were raised, Attorney Jeremy Hugus said, “It’s not fast and I don’t like it, but it is, what I believe, the right thing to do.”
Fremont County Attorney Deputy Dan Stebner shared that it will be around four weeks until they receive the finalized Utah medical examiner’s report for Tillman.
Further proceedings will be determined by the ordered evaluation. County 10 will keep you updated as information is released.