CONWAY -- A Pine Bluff man accused of kidnapping and killing a Wooster woman is mentally fit to stand trial, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Judge Troy Braswell ruled in the Faulkner County Circuit Court case of Tacori Mackrell, 19, who is charged in the July slaying of Elvia Fragstein, 72.
Mackrell and his cousin, Robert Smith III, 17, also of Pine Bluff, are charged with capital murder, kidnapping, aggravated robbery and theft of property. Authorities have said Fragstein died from strangulation and blunt-force injuries. The defendants' cases have been severed, so they will not be tried together.
After questioning a psychologist for the State Hospital about her evaluation of Mackrell, defense attorney Bill James withdrew his objection to her finding that Mackrell was mentally fit to proceed to trial.
Melissa Dannacher, a clinical psychologist and forensic evaluator for the State Hospital, was the only witness.
During questioning by Prosecuting Attorney Carol Crews, Dannacher said that, based upon her examinations of Mackrell, he suffered from neither a mental illness nor a mental disability. Mackrell had made A's in physics and algebra despite disciplinary problems in school, Dannacher said.
"He's able to learn and comprehend information" when he's motivated, she said.
He displayed "a rational understanding" of the charges he faces, Dannacher said. He understands that if he does not change his plea, his case will go to trial, although he has been "very adamant about wanting a plea offer," she said.
During his interviews with Dannacher, he behaved properly, she indicated.
"He acted calm, polite, respectful in his interviews with you?" Crews asked.
"Yes," Dannacher said.
During questioning by James, Dannacher said Mackrell had a conduct disorder and a substance-abuse problem: He told her he had used PCP, or phencyclidine, which is a hallucinogen. She said he also had a history of fighting in school, carrying weapons and staying out past curfew.
"He has the capacity to act appropriately but sometimes chooses not to," Dannacher said.
Mackrell also grew up without a strong family life, Dannacher testified.
He was one of 17 children on his father's side of the family and three on his mother's, she testified.
Court records show that Mackrell's father, Henry Lee Mackrell, died at age 78 in June 2015 and his mother, Linda Faye Ashford, died at age 50 in August 2017.
His mother used crack cocaine and wasn't "really in the picture" when Mackrell was a child, and his father had an alcohol problem, Dannacher said. A young Mackrell "went back and forth between his father and sister mainly."
"His sister did try to care for him," showing up in court for him and advocating for him, Dannacher said.
The way Mackrell was raised "absolutely" affected his conduct, she testified.
She testified that Mackrell's evaluations showed he displayed a lack of empathy.
"If nobody's caring about you, it might be hard to care about them," James surmised.
"Yes," Dannacher said.
Braswell set a motion hearing for July 19. He set a trial that could last a few weeks to begin Sept. 30.
Both defendants are charged as adults. A capital-murder conviction carries a punishment of life in prison without parole or death. Smith will not face even the possibility of a death sentence, though, because he was under 18 at the time of the crime.
State Desk on 05/23/2019