Chattanooga Times Free Press

Murder charges dropped after Chattanoog­a man found incompeten­t

- BY LA SHAWN PAGÁN Contact La Shawn Pagán at lpagan@timesfreep­ress.com or 423-757-6476.

A Chattanoog­a man charged in the 2020 strangulat­ion death of his mother had his firstdegre­e murder charges dismissed Wednesday after he was declared mentally incompeten­t, and he will spend the rest of his life in a state hospital.

Garrett Warren Behlau, 23, was arrested Aug. 19, 2020, after his father, Warren Behlau, saw his son “strangle his mother,” Theresa Behlau, over a home security system camera while Warren Behlau was out of town, according to a Hamilton County Sheriff ’s Office arrest affidavit.

“The reason for the dismissal is because the defendant is permanentl­y incompeten­t and cannot be brought to trial under Tennessee law,” Hamilton County Chief Homicide Prosecutor Michael Dowd said in an email to the Chattanoog­a Times Free Press on Wednesday. “As a result of this, we have worked to have him permanentl­y committed to the state mental hospital system.”

Garrett Beuhlau, then 19, was charged with first-degree premeditat­ed murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with or fabricatin­g evidence upon his arrest. A court order signed Tuesday by Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Amanda Dunn dismissed the felony murder charges, but Behlau will most likely never be free, Dowd said.

“He will spend the rest of his life in a state mental hospital,” Dowd said. “Should he ever be released, which is extremely unlikely, the District Attorney’s Office would immediatel­y refile the murder charge against him.”

Warren Behlau, who was eight hours away when he saw the security camera footage, called police and requested a wellness check for his wife at the home they shared in the 2600 block of Waterhaven Drive around 2:30 p.m., according to the affidavit.

When officers arrived, Garrett Behlau was sitting on his bedroom floor. When officers asked where his mother was, Behlau said she was “in the woods.”

Officers found Theresa Behlau “deceased, with Saran Wrap wrapped around her head,” according to the affidavit.

“While reviewing the video that Mr. Behlau sent me, I observed Garrett Behlau strangling his mother, Theresa Behlau, until her body appeared lifeless,” the affidavit said. “I also observed Garrett drag her body off camera and take some paper towels and attempt to clean up the crime scene.”

“This is a tragic event and considerin­g the law concerning incompeten­cy of a defendant, we took action to secure an involuntar­y commitment of the defendant to make sure that he will never walk the streets free ever again,” Dowd said. “The family of the victim and the defendant were on board and fully supportive of the actions that we took in this case.”

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Garrett Behlau

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