A detention hearing for an Ocean City man accused in the brutal killing of his mother was postponed Wednesday pending a competency evaluation.
Jeffrey Surgent, 46, was arrested Dec. 8, after he was found lying naked on top of his mother's decapitated body.
Surgent called 911, saying he is bipolar and killed his mother, officials previously said.
As responding officers removed him from his mother's body, Surgent screamed “over and over that he killed his mother and he was sorry,” the affidavit states.
He then began singing, “Jesus Loves Me.”
Public defender Eric Shenkus told the judge he submitted a competency evaluation order for his client.
While sometimes the defense will proceed with the detention hearing, Shenkus said the evaluation is important to how the defense will prepare its case.
"It is often a lengthy process," Judge Christopher Gibson acknowledged.
First the defendant will be evaluated by a psychiatrist or psychologist. If a determination cannot be made then, the defendant would undergo a 30-day commitment.
That is where the process can get stalled, as they wait for a bed to become available, BreakingAC was told.
Shenkus estimated it would be six to eight weeks.
"Competency is a fluid issue," he told the judge, saying that if he believes he can proceed before the evaluation is complete, he will notify the court.
The parties will be back in three weeks to see where things stand.
