KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Missouri white supremacist accused of killing three people at Jewish sites in Kansas on the eve of Passover says a court-ordered competency evaluation has found him fit to stand trial and he hopes to serve as his own defense attorney.
Frazier Glenn Miller, 73, of Aurora, Missouri, is accused of killing Dr. William Lewis Corporon, 69, and his 14-year-old grandson, Reat Griffin Underwood, who were at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City in Leawood, Kansas, on April 13 so Reat could audition for a singing competition.
Miller also is accused of killing Terri LaManno, 53, who was visiting her mother at a Jewish retirement home in nearby Overland Park. None of the victims was Jewish.
Johnson County Judge Thomas Kelly Ryan ordered the competency evaluation last month, saying Miller's attorneys had indicated their client was having trouble assisting in his defense.
During a telephone call to The Associated Press on Friday, Miller said one of his attorneys had told him he passed the evaluation "with flying colors."
Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe told the AP that a judge has issued a gag order that prevented him or other attorneys from talking about the case, so he couldn't confirm Miller's assertion.
Phone messages for Miller's two attorneys were not returned. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday morning in Olathe, Kansas, to discuss the evaluation's findings.
Should the court agree that he is competent to stand trial, Miller said he plans to serve as his own defense attorney, keeping one of his current lawyers as an adviser. He said he plans to use his trial as a means to "put the Jews on trial where they belong."
He called the slayings justified, though he said he regrets killing the teenager.
Suffering from emphysema, Miller said he was told five months ago he has a 50 percent chance of living three more years. At the time of the killings, he thought he was much closer to death than that.
