Stock photo, Metro Creative Graphics

Stock photo, Metro Creative Graphics

Son charged with killing Kent teacher to receive competency evaluation

Pierce County judge will decide after evaluation whether man is competent to stand trial

A Pierce County Superior Court judge ordered the son charged with killing his mother, a Kent School District middle school teacher, to be held for a evaluation to determine whether he’s competent to stand trial.

Michael Gese, 31, will receive an inpatient mental health evaluation. Pierce County prosecutors asked Feb. 2 for a competency evaluation, according to a Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson. Gese is scheduled for a competency hearing Feb. 16 when a judge will review the evaluation and determine whether Gese is competent to stand trial.

Pierce County prosecutors charged Gese with first-degree murder in the Feb. 1 stabbing of Gale Gese, 66, a teacher at Cedar Heights Middle School in Covington, inside her Tacoma home.

If Gese is determined to be incompetent to stand trial, he must be transferred from the Pierce County jail to a state mental health facility for restoration treatment in an effort to make him competent to stand trial. To be considered restored and competent to stand trial, a defendant must be able to consult with their defense lawyer and have a rational and factual understanding of the legal proceedings, according to the Pierce County government website.

But the mental health treatment facilities, including Western State Hospital in Lakewood in Pierce County, have a long waiting list of criminal defendants waiting for competency restoration services provided by the state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS).

“Currently, about 870 people are waiting for a competency restoration bed at Western and Eastern state hospitals, compared with approximately 350 defendants who were waiting at the end of 2021,” according to a Feb. 3 article on king5.com that attributed the numbers to DSHS leaders.

Defendants are supposed to be transferred to competency restoration services within seven days of a judge’s order. Some people are waiting 10 months or longer for a bed at Western, according to king5.com. The news report said state officials “blame the backlog on an unprecedented increase in demand, stalled admissions due to COVID-19 and lack of staff.”

That long wait caused a Kent Municipal Court judge in January to dismiss charges against a Kent man and release him from the city jail after he had ruled the man incompetent to stand trial and to be transferred to a state mental health facility for treatment. The man faced charges for allegedly intimidating a school employee and harassment after a November 2022 incident that caused the lockdown of Meridian Elementary School. DSHS officials said it would be July before a bed would be available.

According to court documents, Michael Gese reportedly told Tacoma Police detectives after his arrest that he was upset at his mother because she had asked him to leave the residence the two shared, which would cause him to be homeless again and he didn’t want that.

He told detectives had had to, “Pop the robot’s head off.”

When detectives asked Gese how he felt about what had happened, he said he was, “Sad, like a funeral.”

Gail Gese called 911 on the morning of Feb. 1 to report she was having an issue with her son. When officers arrived at the house they found her dead inside the home. The son had fled the home but police located him later that afternoon.


Talk to us

Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.

To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.

More in News

t
Soos Creek Water & Sewer District corrects billing errors

One customer received a bill for $9,000; district serves parts of Kent, Auburn, Renton and other cities

Washington State Capitol Building in Olympia. File photo
Schools, housing, salaries score big in Senate Dems $70B budget

The proposed spending plan also spends money to fight climate change, help abortion providers and study police pursuits

t
SeaTac girl pleads guilty to hit-and-run murder of Maple Valley man

Judge sentences the 17-year-old to remain in custody until she turns 21; maximum allowed by law

File photo.
Audit finds accountability issues in King County’s equity and social justices programs

Auditors say the county lacks progress tracking, clearly defined roles and accountability measures.

t
Northwest Kidney Centers opening Panther Lake location in Kent

Open house set for 2-4 p.m. Thursday, March 30

Courtesy Photo, Metro Creative Graphics
Kent man faces murder charge in 2022 Auburn case of man found shot

The two men apparently were friends; man found inside vehicle

State Capitol Building in Olympia, WA. File photo
New forecast show state revenues won’t be quite as robust as expected

Democratic budget writers say they will be cautious but able to fund their priorities. Senate put out a capital budget Monday.

Elements of the city’s interactive space-themed park being lowered in. (Screenshot from Kent Youtube page)
Aerospace industry among Kent’s top economic boosters

Mayor said the Kent Valley is home to about 250,000 jobs.

Most Read