By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A staff psychologist at Western State Hospital has concluded James M. Reeder is competent to participate in the court proceedings in his Lewis County homicide case, involving the alleged torture and rape of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old daughter.
[1]James M. Reeder
Reeder, 25, was sent to the state mental hospital June 21 after his lawyer requested the evaluation a week earlier.
The report, filed yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court, notes the Centralia man has mild depression and anxiety, attributed to the legal situation he is facing.
“Any of his previous symptoms that may have interfered with his ability to understand court proceedings or assist in his defense appear to have abated,” Dr. Ray Hendrickson wrote in the report.
Reeder has not yet been arraigned, presumably that is the next step in his case. A notation in his court file says he will appear before a judge on Thursday morning.
He is charged with homicide by abuse and related charges, including possession of methamphetamine, following the May 24 death in Centralia of Koralynn Fister.
If convicted, he faces a possible maximum penalty of life in prison.
[2]Koralynn Fister
The coroner has said the child died from drowning and blunt trauma to her head. Reeder said he found the toddler face down in the bathtub when he stepped out to grab a towel.
Prosecutors allege at least two incidents of sexual abuse of the little girl during the roughly two month period Reeder lived with his girlfriend Becky Heupel and her two daughters, ages 2 and 4.
Defense attorney David Arcuri did not state in court the reason for requesting the competency review, but according to the report, Reeder said he attempted suicide in the jail, trying to drown himself in the sink.
The report, dated June 29, said Reeder was kept in a ward that allowed 24-hour observation and treatment while he was at Western State.
While there, he was put on medication for depression and anxiety, as well as temporarily for insomnia. He said he hardly slept while at the jail, the psychologist wrote.
During the formal interview, he was cooperative and open, the psychologist wrote. He said he was “sad, depressed, anxious … grieving, mourning … I miss that little girl … don’t know how to explain what happened.”
Reeder also – when asked – said he’s always been paranoid, not liking to go to bars or Wal-Mart, for example, because people talk about him and look at him.
The psychologist indicated he felt that was more like a personality trait or a symptom of anxiety.
The report included a diagnosis of adjustment disorder, but did not elaborate on what that meant.
Reeder was taken away by police from the couple’s West Oakview Street area home the day Koralynn died, and arrested that night. He is being held on $5 million bail.
Reeder had been unemployed for about a year, but previously worked as a flooring installer, according to the report.
One portion of it offers basic self-reported biographical information: such as he is currently separated from his wife who has a 5-year-old son, and that he has a 2-year-old daughter he fathered with a girlfriend.
His attorney has described him as a lifetime Lewis County resident, who attended W.F. West High School through the 11th grade.
He has no felony criminal history, but in February 2011 was convicted of a gross misdemeanor, fourth-degree assault and in January 2007 was convicted of misdemeanor possession of marijuana, according to the Western State Hospital report.
He suffered a concussion in a motor vehicle accident as an eighth grader, according to the report.
He told the psychologist he has used, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine.
Although Reeder denied current thoughts of suicide or wanting to harm himself, the psychologist recommended he see a mental health provider.
CORRECTION: This news story has been updated and corrected to reflect a trial date has not yet been scheduled for Reeder.
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For background, read “Breaking news: Mother’s boyfriend held for investigation of rape, murder of Centralia child” from Friday May 25, 2012 at 5 p.m., here [3]