Meat cleaver murder suspect found competent to stand trial

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - A Burlington man accused of killing his wife with a meat cleaver and badly injuring the mother-in-law is competent to stand trial, according to his latest mental health evaluation.

Aita Gurung was first charged back in 2017 for the attack that killed Yogeswari Khadka and badly injured her mother. His mental health has been in question from the beginning and the county prosecutor eventually dropped the charges last year. But Attorney General T.J. Donovan reopened the case along with other cases Chittenden County cases that were dropped.

Gurung’s defense team and the state have agreed with the new mental health findings and will allow the case to move forward. There is concern that if Gurung were moved to a prison pre-trial that his mental health could get worse and lead to a possible lapse in competency.

Gurung is currently in the custody of the Department of Mental Health.