EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – An Eau Claire man accused of a 2016 murder was declared competent to stand trial. Shane Helmbrecht.44, was charged with killing a neighbor eight years ago and found incompetent at the time to stand trial and ordered to live in a mental health group home in Tomah. The original incompetency order now has been reversed by Eau Claire Judge Sarah Harless. Prosecutors acknowledged to the judge that Helmbrecht suffered brain injuries from military service but that things he confided to others in the group home, as well as his conduct, bespoke his competency to stand trial. Helmbrecht walked out of the group home in 2023. Authorities found and arrested him in Mexico.
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