Joseph Underwood

Differing from earlier mental evaluations that found him incompetent, a new report concludes that a former Cody resident is fit to be tried on criminal charges related to a 2019 murder.

If a judge accepts the findings, the report could clear the way for the Park County Attorney’s Office to prosecute Joseph Underwood in connection with the murder of his former girlfriend, Angela Elizondo.

However, Underwood’s defense attorney is now seeking a second opinion — and the proceedings are currently mired in a dispute over which judge should rule on his competency.

Underwood, 48, is alleged to have strangled and killed Elizondo at his Cheyenne apartment in November 2019, then transported and dumped her body in a remote area south of Cody. She was 40 years old at the time of her death.

The Laramie County District Attorney’s Office charged Underwood with first-degree murder and other felonies, but agreed to permanently dismiss the case in April, after two evaluations — one by a psychologist picked by the defense and another from the Wyoming State Hospital — found he was not competent to stand trial.

Dr. Max Wachtel of Denver concluded in 2020 that Underwood was incompetent and Dr. Daniel Martell reached a similar conclusion for the state hospital. According to court records, Martell wrote in a March report that Underwood “lacks the capacity to cooperate with counsel effectively in the courtroom, attend to proceedings effectively, remember what he hears, and process events … such that his capacity to consult with counsel in the pursuit of his defense trial is substantially impaired.”

District Court Judge Peter Froelicher had previously directed the state hospital to attempt to restore Underwood’s competency, but concluded in an August order that Underwood was unlikely to become competent in the foreseeable future.

However, after learning of the dismissal in Laramie County, the Park County Attorney’s Office filed its own set of charges against Underwood, relating to his alleged disposal of Elizondo’s body and his flight from and standoff with local law enforcement.

Park County’s case soon became complicated, though, as Underwood’s court-appointed defense attorney Tim Blatt and presiding Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah expressed concerns about the defendant’s mental state.

Darrah refused to hold a preliminary hearing and put the case on hold until the Wyoming State Hospital could again evaluate whether Underwood is competent. In an August order, the judge said he had serious reservations about whether Underwood is able to understand any part of the proceedings and questioned how his attorney could effectively represent him.

Park County Attorney Bryan Skoric contends state law and past precedent leave it up to the district court to determine the competency of defendants facing felony charges. However, in his August ruling, Darrah said the plain language of state law indicates a case should be paused at any time there’s cause to question a defendant’s competence.

The dispute is now in the hands of the Wyoming Supreme Court. Skoric is asking the high court to compel Darrah to hold a preliminary hearing and prevent the circuit court judge from holding a competency hearing.

Beyond the legal arguments, Skoric said it makes sense from a policy perspective to have just one judge determining a defendant’s competence in a given case.

“Public perception of the criminal trial process in Wyoming would almost certainly be eroded if, for instance, the district court judge in Laramie County ruled the defendant was not competent and could not be restored to competency, the circuit court judge in Park County ruled he was competent, and then the district court judge in Park County subsequently ruled the defendant was not competent but could potentially be restored to competency,” Skoric and Deputy Park County Attorney Jack Hatfield wrote in one part of a Monday brief.

There are already conflicting conclusions among the various psychologists who’ve evaluated Underwood. While Dr. Martell’s March report for the Wyoming State Hospital found the defendant was incompetent, an evaluation ordered by Darrah and completed by the state hospital on Dec. 9 reached the opposite conclusion: Dr. Steven Nelson found Underwood is competent, according to a recent court filing.

Underwood is now allowed to request a second opinion and Blatt, the defense attorney, wants Drs. Martell and Wachtel to evaluate his client again.

The concerns about Underwood’s mental health have come up in his prior criminal cases.

In 2014, he threatened family members with a gun and got into a standoff with responding Cody police officers, one that ended with Underwood shooting himself in the head. His mental fitness was evaluated in the ensuing case — with evidence presented of multiple traumatic brain injuries and a bi-polar disorder diagnosis — but he was found to be competent.

Underwood ultimately served about three years and eight months behind bars, being released from parole about 10 months before Elizondo’s murder.

A hunter found her body along a two-track road west of Wyo. Highway 120 between Cody and Meeteetse in early November 2019; Underwood was implicated when authorities caught him approaching the body. He was arrested after a chase and 2 1/2 hour standoff, in which Underwood again threatened to shoot himself.
In a later interview with authorities, Underwood said he’d blacked out during an argument with his former girlfriend, woke up on top of her dead body and proceeded to have sexual contact with her corpse, charging documents allege.

Underwood has remained behind bars since his November 2019 arrest, with his bail in Park County currently set at $500,000. He remained in custody on Wednesday, awaiting further proceedings.

It’s unclear what will happen next in the case; the Wyoming Supreme Court remains months away from issuing a ruling on Skoric’s request to force Darrah to hold a preliminary hearing.