BENTONVILLE — A Northwest Arkansas woman accused of killing her grandmother was ordered Thursday to undergo a mental evaluation.
Andrea Lea Wilson, 26, of Bentonville is charged with capital murder and tampering. She previously pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Ruby Ross, 81, was found dead May 16 in her Pea Ridge home. Wilson is accused of hitting her grandmother with a hammer, according to court documents.
Shane Wilkinson, Wilson's attorney, requested the mental evaluation at Thursday's hearing to determine whether his client is mentally fit to stand trial and whether she was criminally responsible for her actions at the time of the crime.
Circuit Judge Robin Green granted Wilkinson's request and ordered Wilson to undergo a mental evaluation at the Arkansas State Hospital in Little Rock.
Leann Ross previously told authorities she went to her mother's home May 16 and found Ruby Ross in bed with blood on the headboard. Leann Ross said her niece was at her mother's home that day and may have been the last person to see her alive, according to a police report.
Detectives with the Benton County sheriff's office found a bloody hammer with white hair in an outhouse behind Ross' house, according to an affidavit. Authorities noted the trash bag contained the hammer, rubber gloves with blood on them, a large butcher knife and bank statements with Andrea Wilson's name on the documents.
Wilson is also charged with aggravated assault and battery, accused of intentionally hitting a bicyclist with her car.
Bentonville police officers went to an incident involving a vehicle and a pedestrian at 1:42 a.m. May 15 at Southwest Regional Airport Boulevard and Southwest Maple Road, according to court documents. A police officer found a gold Honda Accord stuck on top of a large boulder and a severely damaged bicycle.
Jonathan Hampton told prosecutors he was riding the bicycle with a headlight and taillight, and as he crossed the intersection he was hit by a car. Hampton said he fell, heard an engine "rev" when the car came back at him and he got up and ran, according to an affidavit.
The judge suspended the proceedings in both cases until the outcome of the mental evaluation is known. A mental status hearing is scheduled for 8 a.m. Dec. 3.
Records show Wilson was being held in lieu of $850,000 bond in the Benton County jail Thursday morning.
