Simmons receiving mental exam

EPHRATA - A Grant County judge ordered proceedings against Jack P. Simmons be suspended for the man to receive a mental health evaluation.

Superior Court Judge John Antosz ordered Simmons be evaluated by two qualified experts at Eastern State Hospital after a request from defense attorney Stephen Kozer. 

Simmons, 57, Moses Lake, is charged with murder in the second degree for allegedly killing his 88-year-old mother.

Kozer requested Simmons be evaluated for competency, sanity and his mental state at the time of the alleged crime. The defense attorney stated Simmons appears to be disorientated, has gone the wrong way back to his cell several times and doesn't track conversations well.

"He has called me by several other persons' names, even though I have introduced myself by name," he wrote. "He appears to be easily led and easily suggestible as if someone would suggest something to him and he would agree just to be agreeable."

Kozer also stated Simmons doesn't appear to appreciate the gravity of his situation.

Simmons is facing a murder charge after Moses Lake police responded to the residence he shared with his mother, according to a Moses Lake police report. Police found Simmons in the residence with his dead mother.

He reportedly initially told police he came home and found the phone pulled out of the wall. After further searching, he allegedly found his mother fell in the rec room, according to the police report. He reported carrying her back to the couch, and started back to fix the phone, when he heard her fall again. He allegedly told police he performed CPR and when she didn't respond he tried to fix the phone.

When police questioned why he didn't leave the house to get help, Simmons allegedly answered he only knows one neighbor, who goes to bed early, according to the police report.

After more questioning, Simmons reportedly admitted to killing her, saying he found her by the fireplace and became angry, according to the police report. He allegedly grabbed her arms, yanking her to her feet. She reportedly slipped from his grip, falling back to the ground.

An autopsy determined the victim died because of blunt force trauma to the head and torso, according to the Grant County coroner.

Police found blood in several locations in the rec room, including a footstool, the rocks around the fireplace and the wall, as well as finding a place where the blood was wiped up, according to the police report. The pants Simmons wore reportedly had large amounts of blood on them.

A neighbor reportedly told police the victim had come over three or four months prior, covered in blood, accusing her son of beating her, according to the police report.