A man charged in a high-profile Labor Day murder had previously been found incompetent to stand trial and had his criminal charges dismissed just months before the brutal killing of 62-year-old Andrew Wimsatt in a Round Rock park, and the crime is prompting questions about the handling of suspects with mental health issues.
On September 7, Wimsatt was seated on a park bench after visiting his mother at a nearby nursing home when a stranger approached him from behind and stabbed him multiple times in the neck.
Surveillance video from a homeowners’ association helped police identify 26-year-old Benedict Chinedu Ogbodiegwu Jr. as the suspect, and a search of his home turned up clothing matching the video and a knife that tested positive for blood.
Under Texas statute, a suspect may be declared incompetent if he or she lacks the ability to consult with their lawyer “with a reasonable degree of rational understanding” or a “rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against them,” but incompetency is not the same as a finding of not guilty.
Ogbodiegwu’s criminal record in Williamson County stretches back to 2017, beginning with a theft charge. In January 2026, he was again arrested for theft, and records show the court ordered a competency evaluation and committed him for restoration in February, but he appears to have remained an inmate in the Williamson County Jail until April.
On April 7, Ogbodiegwu’s charge was dismissed, and he was released from custody, but he was rearrested in May for failure to identify himself or providing false information. Those charges were also dismissed, and a new competency hearing was canceled on May 29.
Ogbodiegwu’s case is only one of many examples of criminal suspects being found incompetent but later having charges dismissed, including those accused of more serious crimes.
Last July, Harris County authorities arrested 28-year-old Joshua McDaniel for allegedly attacking four people within a 24-hour span, including a victim who was brutally beaten with a crowbar.
McDaniel had a criminal history dating back to a 2015 charge of assault on a family member, and he served two years in state prison for felony robbery. After his 2026 arrest for injury to an elderly person, McDaniel was placed in a mental health diversion program, but his charges were later dismissed.
In another example, Milton Seymore, a Houston suspect charged with Intoxication Manslaughter on September 8, has a criminal history that begins in 1985 and includes both misdemeanor and felony charges. A court found Seymore incompetent in 2018, and he spent five years at the Rusk State Hospital, but he was released in 2023, and his charges were dismissed.
Arrested for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) in July 2026, Seymour was then declared permanently incompetent, and Harris County records indicate he was to have been placed in a mental health treatment facility. But prosecutors dropped his charges on July 28.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office reduced Seymour’s Intoxication Manslaughter charge to a DWI, and on Tuesday, a judge granted him a $100 General Order Bond, although as of Wednesday afternoon, he remains in custody at the Harris County jail.
Under Texas statute, once the issue of incompetency is raised, the court may dismiss all pending charges on the prosecutor’s motion at any time, even before a formal finding of incompetence. For misdemeanors punishable by jail time, dismissal is mandatory if the person is not tried before the maximum restoration period expires.
Courts can also dismiss charges and transfer the person to probate court for possible civil commitment, but defendants sometimes wait months or years in a county jail while waiting for an open bed in a state mental health facility. Earlier this year, a federal court judge ruled that admission wait times of more than 21 days were unconstitutional and issued an injunction giving the state four years to provide a remedy.
Andy Kahan of Crime Stoppers of Houston told The Texan that he is concerned about how these cases are handled.
“The issue of what happens to defendants with a mental health history, what’s happening with defendants’ mental health history, and those who have been deemed incompetent and restored to competency, and in some cases referred for civil commitment, and then having their cases dismissed and going on to reoffend is troubling, disturbing, and is a threat to public safety,” Kahan said.
An analysis by FOX 26 Houston found at least 10 defendants in Harris County who had been declared incompetent, restored to competency, and then released and are now fugitives. Five of those had been charged with violent crimes.
Since Wimsatt was known in national media circles, his murder drew attention from FOX News’ Greg Gutfield, other media personalities, and state officials.
In a social media post, House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) wrote: “Texans deserve answers about why his murderer was left on our streets after multiple arrests.”
“Families should not live in fear of another savage, random attack because local officials refuse to enforce the law and protect the public,” he wrote.
Gov. Greg Abbott responded on social media to Wimsatt’s murder by reiterating his calls for the creation of a statewide prosecutor to handle criminal cases when a local prosecuting attorney fails to do so.
Williamson County Attorney Dee Hobbs, however, said in a statement to The Texan that his office had done all they “could do under the law to protect citizens.”
“I am confident this office did everything it could do under the law. I am equally devastated by what has occurred and can only pray there are no more instances like this. We need the state to give us the needed tools to better protect our citizens,” he said.
“As for some state leaders being concerned about cases like this, they should be, as we all should be. However, I find it sad those leaders are trying to find a speck in local prosecutors’ eyes while they walk around with a plank in their own.”
Burrows has instructed the state House Governmental Oversight Select Committee to consider prosecutorial integrity at an interim hearing on September 30. Lawmakers are expected to hear testimony on how Ogbodiegwu’s case was handled, along with multiple examples of district attorneys dropping or reducing charges against repeat violent offenders across the state.