PORTLAND, Maine - A judge is ruling that a Maine man accused of killing his mother must undergo an emergency mental health evaluation.
Forty-eight-year-old Andrew Leighton of Falmouth was scheduled for a hearing in Portland on Tuesday. The Portland Press Herald reports Justice Thomas Warren ordered the evaluation before the hearing began after conferring with attorneys for both sides.
Leighton previously pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity stemming from the May 2013 shooting death of his mother, Shirley Leighton.
Defense attorney Robert LeBrasseur says the future of the case depends on the results of the mental health evaluation. Leighton is charged with shooting his mother just before she and his father were about to have him committed for mental health treatment.