A judge has ordered a mental health evaluation and has now postponed indefinitely the trial of the 85-year-old white man who shot and killed Ralph Yarl, a teenage black honor student who accidentally rang the wrong doorbell at his Kansas City, Missouri home.
Andrew Lester’s lawyer requested the review last month, saying the retired aircraft mechanic’s health has deteriorated to the point he is now unable to understand the proceedings against him or assist in his own defence. The prosecutor did not object to the request.
Lester’s trial was scheduled to begin next month on October 7. Instead, the hearing is the next day.
Lester, who appeared in court on Monday, has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the April 13, 2023, shooting of 16-year-old Yarl at the time.
A judge has ordered a mental health evaluation and has now postponed indefinitely the trial of Andrew Lester, the 85-year-old white man who shot and killed Ralph Yarl.
At the time, 16-year-old Ralph Yarl accidentally rang the wrong doorbell at a Kansas City, Missouri home.
The elderly man had already pleaded guilty to the charges and his lawyer had argued that Lester acted in self-defense.
Yarl survived the shooting and graduated high school this spring, but his family said the shooting took a heavy emotional toll and has filed a lawsuit against Lester.
The shooting shocked the country and sparked national conversations about gun policy and race in the United States
Attorney Steve Salmon has long argued that Lester acted in self-defense, terrified of a stranger knocking on his door as he settled into bed for the night.
Yarl showed up at Lester’s door after he messed up the streets where he was supposed to pick up his twin brother from a play date.
Yarl testified at an earlier hearing that Lester shot him in the head and said, “Don’t ever come here again.”
Although the bullet did not penetrate Yarl’s brain, the impact knocked him to the ground. Yarl said Lester then shot him in the arm.
In the following months, Lester has had heart problems, a broken hip, and been hospitalized several times.
Lester has also lost 50 pounds, which Salmon blames on the stress he’s been under due to intense news media scrutiny and death threats.
Lester shot and killed Ralph Yarl, now 17, on April 13, 2023, when he went to the wrong address to pick up his younger twin brothers from a friend’s house in Kansas City, Missouri (pictured: Yarl in the hospital after the shooting)
Ralph Yarl of the center was said to have tried to pick up his younger twin brothers from a friend’s house but went to the wrong address.
Salmon said Lester has memory problems related to key facts of the case that weren’t a problem before.
He said Lester believes every pretrial hearing is an actual trial, despite being told otherwise, and believes the coins he bought from the TV ad are now worth about $20 million.
“During the course of this case, counsel has observed a significant decline in the defendant’s overall physical health as well as his mental acuity,” Salmon said in the motion Monday.
“The defendant’s poor physical health is partly due to the broken hip, heart problems and hospitalization he has suffered during the pendency of this case,” he added.
Salmon also stated that due to the “tremendous amount of media attention, death threats and other unwanted attention” it has made it “difficult for Lester to interact socially with anyone”.
