Accused killer of 4 competent for trial

TILLAMOOK, Ore. – Edward Morris, the Portland man charged with murdering his pregnant wife and their three children in December 2002, is competent to stand trial, Tillamook County Judge David Hantke ruled Friday.

Bev Lutz, trial court administrator for the Tillamook County Circuit Court, said no trial date has been set, but Morris is due to reappear in court on July 16 to determine whether he will seek to represent himself or rely on his current attorneys. He may also enter a plea.

Television cameras captured Morris heading into court Friday, with a shaggy beard and his hands cuffed behind his back, telling reporters to get a good seat in court because it was going to be “a good show.”

After the judge’s verdict, family members said at least the trial could now move forward.

“He is competent to stand trial – he is a very intelligent young man,” said Marie Morris, Edward Morris’ stepmother. “We’d expect nothing less than life (in prison). It is very hard to sit there and say that. There are so many people who could have helped him.”

Morris confessed to the killings hours after his capture in January 2003 in Baker City, according to law enforcement authorities.

His mental fitness to stand trial was in question after Hantke ordered him sent to the Oregon State Hospital in March. That came after Morris attempted suicide, volunteered for the death penalty and announced that he would represent himself with God as his co-counsel.

In court on Friday, forensic psychologist Dr. Richard Hulteng, who had evaluated Morris in sessions totaling about 24 hours since January 2003, said he diagnosed Morris as having a schizoid-affected personality disorder that combined mood and thought disturbances with periods of depression and delusionary thinking.

Hulteng said Morris stopped taking his medication in late January of this year, and his conversations reflected illusionary religious beliefs, such as the belief that, “God would be his co-counsel.”

But forensic psychologist Dr. Carlene K. Shultz, who works at the Oregon State Hospital, said Morris’ statements “don’t represent delusions.”

Shultz said Morris was able to compartmentalize his thoughts, and that “his thinking was very strategized.”

“He seemed very interested in a mental health defense,” Shultz said.

Morris has expressed interest in representing himself, but family members said they would be trying to persuade him to keep his attorneys.

“(Keeping his lawyers) will keep him from the death penalty,” Marie Morris said.

Morris’s attorney, Charles Fryer, said the defense had offered to settle for multiple life sentences for Morris, and that Tillamook County District Attorney Bill Porter was considering the option.

“I can say he was actively considering it,” Fryer said. “But that was earlier this year before my client went sideways on me. I believe he wants to represent himself, with our assistance.”

Hunters found the body of Morris’ wife, Renee, in Tillamook State Forest on Dec. 21, 2002. The bodies of his children – 8-year-old Alexis, 10-year-old Bryant and Jonathan, 4 – were found nearby later that day. Morris was arrested on Jan. 4, 2003 on the other side of the state after his van was spotted by travelers and reported to police.

He told the detective he shot his wife and two sons along a highway. Then, he said he drove into the Drift Creek area and dumped the bodies. At the same spot, he told police he then killed his 8-year-old daughter. An autopsy showed she had been stabbed at least 18 times.