A Lake County judge is expected to rule Friday whether William Carlson, 17, is fit to go on trial for the murder of his parents in late 1990 in Wildwood.
Carlson, who was a student at Warren Township High School in Gurnee, has been examined by seven psychologists and psychiatrists in the last year.
Their written conclusions were submitted Thursday to Judge Peter Trobe by Robert Hauser, Carlson`s lawyer, and by Steve McCollum and Jeffrey Pavletic, Lake County assistant state`s attorneys.
Paul Carlson, 35, and his wife, Sandra, 41, were shot to death in their Wildwood home in rural Lake County on Oct. 24, 1990.
Their son allegedly took the family car and fled to Canada after the shootings. He was arrested in Quebec City after a traffic accident.
Hauser said four experts who were hired by the defense and one expert hired by the court found Carlson unfit to stand trial.
McCollum said the two experts retained by the state found him fit.
Trobe will hear attorneys` arguments on the issue Friday morning.
The fitness issue does not concern Carlson`s guilt or innocence.
Rather, it concerns his ability to understand the murder charges against him and his ability to cooperate with his defense attorney.
If the judge determines that Carlson cannot understand the charges or cooperate with counsel, he will be sent to a mental institution until he is deemed mentally competent to stand trial.
In addition to the murders, Carlson allegedly sexually assaulted his mother after her death. He is being held in the Lake County Jail in Waukegan without bond.
Hauser said after court Thursday that his client suffers from frequent delusions.
McCollum, however, said he believes some of Carlson`s mental state may be caused by psychiatric treatment he has received since his arrest.
”What has caused him to be unfit is the supposed treatment he`s received from the defense psychiatrists,” said McCollum, the county`s chief deputy state`s attorney.
”We feel that it was counterproductive treatment.
”During this course of treatment he has been deteriorating.”
State`s Atty. Michael J. Waller said it is not known why the Carlsons were slain, although there was antagonism between the parents and their son.
Carlson admitted the slayings in a statement to police after his arrest.
”At the time police speculated that it may have occurred because of the strictness of the parents, who were Jehovah`s Witnesses. But he (William Carlson) never said,” Waller said.
