Murder suspect gets second attorney
Shepherd woman could face death penalty
Her defense attorney has withdrawn a request for a psychological evaluation of a Shepherd woman accused in a fatal stabbing last month and a federal magistrate has added a second attorney because she could face the death penalty.
Both new developments came this week in the case of Kaden Elizabeth Gilbert, 20, who’s accused of murder and felonious assault in the Nov. 16 stabbing at a Mt. Pleasant apartment that killed 21-yearold Nangonhs Massey and left a 22-year- old man injured.
A federal magistrate ordered appointment of “learned counsel,” a second attorney with expertise in death penalty cases, even though Gilbert has not been officially indicted yet.
Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen said it’s beneficial to the accused, the court and the prosecution to know early in proceedings if mitigating circumstances would sway federal prosecutors against seeking the death penalty.
Ellen Domph, a Chicago attorney with extensive expertise in federal capital cases, was named to assist defense attorney Bryan J. Sherer.
Meanwhile, Sherer last month sought an evaluation to see if Gilbert is fit to stand trial but has since withdrawn the request.
Sherer told the court that extensive travel and isolation within the federal prison system could cause harm to Gilbert.
But federal Assistant Attorney Roy Kranz opposes skipping the examination and said defense concerns can be addressed by bringing experts to the Isabella County Jail to examine Gilbert.
“Gilbert’s motion for the court to withdraw the competency evaluation order... should be denied,” Kranz wrote in court documents.
“Alternately, the court should order that the competency hearing previously requested by both parties should be conducted at the Isabella County jail by an expert of the government’s choosing to avoid the defendant’s travel and isolation.”
Both defense and prosecutors have cited Gilbert’s extensive mental health history, which goes back to childhood and has included recent self-harm and hallucinations while in jail.
At one point Gilbert banged her head against a brick wall at the Isabella County Jail so hard and often that she was taken by ambulance to a hospital for medical and psychiatric treatment.
Gilbert has been jailed since Nov. 16 when police say she stabbed Massey in the thigh with a folding pocket knife, severing her femoral artery.
Eyewitnesses told police that Gilbert came to the Oak Street Village Apartments about 2: 30 a. m. that day and stabbed both Massey and the 22-yearold man with a knife she had concealed in the sleeve of a sweater.
Gilbert is facing federal charges because both of her victims were Native American and the attacks happened within the Isabella Indian Reservation.