Teen charged with mom’s killing not competent to stand trial

MIDDLETOWN — A local teen accused of fatally stabbing his mother was ordered Tuesday to the state’s mental illness hospital after he was found not competent to stand trial.

Alicia Medina, a 53-year-old mother of six and grandmother of seven, was stabbed 10 times on May 20 during a domestic violence incident.

Medina’s son, 18-year-old Eugenio Vela III, a Middletown High School student, was taken into custody that day and has remained held on more than $1 million bond on charges of murder, first-degree assault and violation of a protective order.

Judge Julia Dewey ordered immediate family only in the courtroom on Tuesday, at the request of the public defender and the state’s attorney.

Audra Beauregard, a licensed social worker, testified about Vela’s competency to stand trial.

Public defender Angela Anastasi said her client was found was not competent to stand trial based on a recommendation from the mental health professionals who evaluated him.

She said the court found his competency can be restored, and so he is being sent to Whiting Forensic Hospital for 60 days of restoration. At that point, the hospital will reevaluate his competency and determine if he needs more time for restoration or if he can proceed in court.

Anastasi said Whiting can continue this process for up to 18 months, according to state statutes. Vela’s next court hearing is scheduled for Nov. 9.

Police said Vela was taken into custody shortly after the incident, which they said occurred on East Street between Tuttle and Ridgewood roads.

Vela got into a domestic dispute with a woman inside a car, leaving her “severely injured,” according to his arrest warrant. Medina was rushed to Middlesex Hospital, where she died from her injuries.

Police declined to release the name of the victim because they said she was killed in a domestic dispute, but family members later identified the woman to Hearst Connecticut Media as Medina.

Vela, who was taken into custody that day with a blood-like substance on his hands and clothing, admitted to investigators that he stabbed the victim during an argument in the car, the warrant stated.

He claimed Medina was slapping him while driving and tried to stab him with what he described to police as a kitchen knife, according to the warrant. That’s when, Vela told investigators, he used a 4-inch knife and started to stab her, the warrant said.

Vela told authorities that he tried to pull Medina out of the car to “finish the job” on East Street, but she got caught in the seat belt, the warrant said. When detectives asked for clarification, the warrant said Vela told investigators he was “trying to kill her.”

The teen initially told authorities he did not know the victim, the warrant said. But he is the subject of two protective orders involving Medina, and had an active arrest warrant for allegedly violating one of those orders, police said.

Survivors of domestic violence should call 911 if they are in immediate danger. The Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence can be reached at 888-774-2900. The U.S. National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 800-799-7233 (TTY for the deaf and hard-of-hearing: 800-787-3224).