Thomas Johnson, the former Texas A&M football player accused of using a machete to kill a jogger has been found incompetent to stand trial, The Dallas Morning News reports.
According to the paper, Johnson will be sent to North Texas State Hospital for up to 120 days of treatment and evaluation after a Dallas County magistrate on Monday found him incompetent to stand trial based on a report filed by a court-ordered mental health expert.
Johnson's attorney, Jennifer Balido, told the paper she expects her client will regain competency to stand trial in the future.
In October 2015 Johnson told Dallas police he was angry about his living situation when he picked a jogger at random in a Northeast Dallas park and killed him with a "large-edged weapon."
An eye-witness to the slaying, identified only as Brandon, said he was cycling along the White Rock Creek Trail at Harry Moss Park when he saw a man hacking another man with what appeared to be a machete.
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Police said Johnson admitted to killing a man at the park, later identified as 53-year-old David Stevens, and then leaving the scene to call the police. Police said Johnson borrowed a phone from someone else in the park and called 911 to report a stabbing. He then returned to the scene of the crime where he waited for police and confessed to officers before being placed under arrest.
Stevens' wife of 25 years, Patti, later took her own life. In the days before her suicide, Patti Stevens told The Dallas Morning News that she felt lost without "the love of my life."
Johnson is a Dallas native who attended Skyline High School and played football for Texas A&M in 2012. He disappeared mid-season and wasn't seen again until he appeared at his family's Dallas home three days later.
In an interview with NBC 5, Johnson's father said his son was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2014 and that the disease is a "monster."
