“It could mean that it’s very frustrating for victims to find justice or to see that justice is done,” a criminal defense attorney told KVUE.
AUSTIN, Texas — Ethan Nieneker, 32, is accused of killing three people in a North Austin Target parking lot: 24-year-old Rosa Machuca, 65-year-old Adam Chow, and his 4-year-old granddaughter, Astrid.
Court records obtained by KVUE show Nieneker confessed to police about the shooting, claiming he was Jesus. Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said he has a previous background of mental illness.
Kim Dang is the fiancée and longtime partner of Machuca.
“If you do recognize you have a mental health problem, just make sure you are trying to heal it for yourself and not try to hurt people in the process,” Dang said.
Travis County jail records show Nieneker faces new charges of attempted murder, aggravated robbery and robbery, and two charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The charges are in addition to the charges of capital murder by terror threat, capital murder of a person under 10 years of age and first-degree murder that had already been filed against Nieneker.
The combined bond for all charges is $3.4 million, and a mental health evaluation has been ordered for Nieneker.
Jessica Huynh is a criminal defense attorney who said this means mental health experts will need to get involved to see if Nieneker is competent to stand trial.
“It could take months, if not years, because both sides actually get to have their own experts,” Huynh said.
If Nieneker is found to not be competent, Huynh said competency can be restored through jail-based competency restoration, which is designed to help provide mental health treatment.
“If they are restored to competency, then the entire judicial process can start moving forward,” Huynh said.
Once competency is no longer an issue, Huynh said it will be important to determine if Nieneker was sane at the time these acts were committed.
“He could potentially have a verdict of ‘not guilty by reason of insanity,'” Huynh said.
Huynh admits these issues could take a long time to move through the judicial system.
“It could mean that it’s very frustrating for victims to find justice or to see that justice is done,” Huynh said.