PORT ANGELES — Benjamin George Bonner will have another mental health evaluation before entering a plea in his pending murder case.
Bonner, 18, is charged in the May 4 beating deaths of Cynthia Little and her pet dog at Little’s Sunland residence. He has yet to enter a plea on counts of second-degree murder, first-degree animal cruelty and first-degree robbery.
“We’re going to have Mr. Bonner examined before we enter a plea,” defense attorney John Hayden told Clallam County Superior Court Judge Erik Rohrer on Friday.
The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said Bonner drove Little’s vehicle to his Bainbridge Island residence after the murder.
Little, a child advocate who was described as a family friend to Bonner, was 71.
Bonner was ordered in May to take an anti-psychotic medication to restore his competency to stand trial.
He was found competent to stand trial after taking olanzapine during a supervised stay at Western State Hospital in Lakewood.
Hayden requested a continuance and subsequent review hearings every two weeks.
Rohrer scheduled the next hearing in Bonner’s case for Dec. 29.
Bonner allegedly apologized for the crimes in a Nov. 27 letter to Judge Brian Coughenour.
“I’m sorry for the pain I inflicted on my community,” a letter allegedly addressed from Bonner said.
The charges against Bonner include vulnerable victim, deliberate cruelty and deadly weapon enhancement.
Bonner is being held in the Clallam County jail on $1.5 million bail.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.