Lincoln double murder case stalled, suspect awaiting mental health treatment

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - A Lincoln woman accused of intentionally running over and killing two people on March 27 isn’t getting the mental health treatment needed for the case to move forward.

Despite being ordered to the Lincoln Regional Center on April 5, there is still no bed available for Taylor Bradley. At her competency hearing on Thursday, it was noted that Bradley is still on a wait list and remains in the Lancaster County Jail. County attorney Pat Condon and Lancaster County Jail director Brad Johnson have both confirmed with NCN news partner 10/11 Now that Bradley hasn’t left the jail.

Bradley faces two counts of first degree murder, one count of attempted murder and three counts of use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony.

Lincoln Police said she hit and killed two maintenance workers at The Lodge Apartments, Chris Karmazin and Ronald Gonzalez.

“It appears Bradley may have been amidst a mental health crisis and the maintenance employees were her focus,” Lincoln Police Assistant Chief Brian Jackson said back in March. “Nothing suggests the maintenance staff did anything to initiate this event.”

Court documents show because of her mental status, Bradley needed to get treatment at the Lincoln Regional Center before proceeding through the court process. This means as of now, the case is stalled.

The judge scheduled another hearing on Aug. 31 to check on the status of Bradley’s case.

Wait times at the Lincoln Regional Center for people deemed incompetent to stand trial has been an ongoing problem plaguing the court system. In response to these concerns, the State Legislature passed laws creating the Department of Health and Human Services Wait Time Dashboard for LRC. It currently shows the average number of days patients admitted during the week of July 17-July 23 spent on the wait list was 238 days.

It also shows only 25% of the Regional Center beds dedicated to competency restoration are full.

10/11 Now asked DHHS why inmates were waiting when 75% of beds were open. A spokesperson for the department said “bed capacity depends on a number of variables such as staffing, construction and other factors. For example, there may be a bed available, but there may not be staffing available.”

In response to the lengthy wait times, the spokesperson said women waiting for competency typically wait anywhere from one week to 113 days for a bed. He said wait times can vary based on staff available and the level of care the patient needs.

The goal of restoration to competency is to stabilize the person accused of a crime so they can go through the court process. You can read more about Nebraska’s laws on this topic here.