Minn. man found fit to stand trial in mom’s death

Published 2:54 pm Saturday, August 31, 2013

ST. PAUL — A Ramsey County judge will try a man previously considered too mentally ill to stand trial on accusations he strangled his mother and then set fire to their St. Paul home.

According to a criminal complaint, Michael Ray Caldwell argued with his mother about insurance money, strangled her and then set the fire with lighter fluid. She was found Sept. 6, 2012, a day after she brought him back from a mental hospital in Missouri.

A judge will preside over a “stipulated facts” trial, in which both sides agree to facts in evidence. No witnesses are called to testify.

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The judge will present his verdict Sept. 17. If he decides Caldwell committed the crime, he must then decide whether he was mentally ill.