Murder Suspect Held Unfit for Trial
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A transient accused nearly two years ago of fatally stabbing a Hermosa Beach woman on her beachside patio has been ruled mentally unfit to stand trial for murder.
Torrance Superior Court Judge William R. Hollingsworth Jr. found Tuesday that Sharon K. Hendrix, 31, is not capable of assisting in her own defense. Hendrix will be committed to a state mental hospital.
Hendrix is accused of stabbing Gillian N. Cooper on March 30, 1988, as Cooper, 40, stood in front of her house on the Strand in Hermosa Beach.
Hendrix had previously been found mentally fit and ordered to stand trial for murder, but Hollingsworth followed the advice of two psychologists and a psychiatrist in ordering that the trial not go forward.
Doctors will periodically review Hendrix’s condition to see if she is capable of standing trial.
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