FERGUS FALLS, Minn. - A man charged with killing his mother with a machete has been found competent to stand trial.
James Francis Howard, 46, of Dalton, is accused of using an 18-inch machete to inflict head and hand injuries on 68-year-old Barbara Howard. She later died at Sanford Medical Center in Fargo.
Howard told medics he was aiming to end his mother's suffering from cancer and diabetes, court records say.
Now that a judge has found Howard competent to stand trial, the case will go before a grand jury sometime this month, said Otter Tail County Attorney David Hauser.
In Minnesota, a grand jury indictment is required for a first-degree murder charge.
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Howard remains in the Otter Tail County Jail in lieu of $1 million bond without conditions or $500,000 bond with conditions.
