Double murder suspect to be evaluated

Richard Ross, the man suspected of two north central Idaho double homicides 27 years apart, is being evaluated for his competency to stand trial.

Nez Perce County Magistrate Judge Sunil Ramalingam granted a motion filed by defense attorney Lawrence Moran, in which Moran affirmed the request for the evaluation was not a delay tactic.

“This motion is made to determine the defendant’s fitness to proceed and is fit to participate in his own defense and is based upon the attorney’s interaction with the defendant,” Moran wrote in the motion. “This motion is not intended to disturb the orderly dispatch of the business of this court.”

Ramalingam’s ruling ordered Ross, 56, be examined by a psychiatrist or licensed psychologist designated by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare as soon as possible. The judge also set a review hearing for 2:30 p.m. Friday.

Ross is being held without bond in the Nez Perce County jail while he awaits a preliminary hearing that will determine whether there is probable cause that he committed the first-degree murders of 76-year-old Edwina “Eddy” Devin and her 57-year-old son, Michael Devin, the night of Sept. 30. The preliminary hearing was scheduled for Wednesday, but Ramalingam vacated it pending results of the competency evaluation.

Eddy Devin’s family found her body in her home on Cove Road near Grangeville on Sept. 30. The next morning, Lewiston first responders found Michael Devin’s remains inside a burning 2007 GMC pickup truck at approximately 3:20 a.m. on Nez Perce Drive east of Juniper Drive in Lewiston. Both were asphyxiated, according to police.

Last week, the Nez Perce County Prosecutor’s Office named Ross as the leading suspect in the strangulation deaths of Bruce and Lynn Peeples at their Grangeville home in 1994. Ross has not been charged in that case, but the investigation has been reopened.

Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies converged on the Clarkston Motel 6 on Bridge Street on Halloween night to arrest Ross after he apparently returned from California, where police believe he fled after allegedly committing the Devin murders.

According to Ramalingam’s order, the competency evaluation will include a diagnosis of Ross’ mental condition, an opinion as to his capacity to understand the proceedings against him and assist in his own defense, and an opinion on whether he lacks the ability to make informed decisions about treatment. Finally, Ramalingam ordered that the results of the evaluation be sealed in the court file.

Ross faces a maximum sentence of life in prison or the death penalty if convicted.

Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com