PROVO — Attorneys for a man accused of helping a 16-year-old girl take her own life are asking for a review of his mental competency.
In a hearing Tuesday, attorneys for Tyerell Przybycien, 18, indicated that they will be seeking to have the Spanish Fork man evaluated to determine whether he is currently legally capable of facing the charges against him, according to court documents.
In a proposed order filed in the case, the attorneys are requesting that two mental health evaluators from the Department of Human Services meet with Przybycien. He is currently in custody in the Utah County Jail.
A hearing on the matter has been set for Jan. 9.
Under Utah law, individuals charged with a crime must be able to understand the allegations against them and assist their attorneys in raising a defense.
Przybycien has been ordered to stand trial on charges of murder, a first-degree felony, and desecration of a human body, a class B misdemeanor, in the death of 16-year-old Jchandra Brown last May.
Prosecutors had argued in a preliminary hearing that while Brown had sought to take her own life, Przybycien was responsible for the girl's death because he bought her a rope and other items used in the suicide, drove her to a remote site in Payson Canyon and tied the noose for her.
Przybycien's attorneys maintain that Brown was knowingly responsible for her own death and that Przybycien's actions don't fit the requirements for a murder charge.
Przybycien was arrested May 6 after hunters found Brown's body hanging from a tree. Among the items found at her feet was a cellphone that Przybycien used to record the girl's death, talking to her at moments and checking her pulse to confirm she was deceased before leaving her in the tree, charging documents state.
Przybycien is also facing charges in a separate, ongoing case that remains on hold while the murder charge is adjudicated. In that case, police who obtained a warrant to search his phone after Brown's death reported finding child pornography. He is charged with five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony.
The Utah Department of Health offers suicide prevention help at utahsuicideprevention.org/suicide-prevention-basic. The national crisis hotline is 1-800-784-2433.