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Six years after man accused of cutting out wife's tongue, judge set to determine his competency to stand trial

Spokesman-Review - 2/24/2023

Feb. 23—More than six years ago, Lyudmila Pavlik was found covered in blood and badly beaten in her living room.

Her husband, Vladimir V. Pavlik, admitted to police he had beaten his wife with a steel bar and cut out her tongue, saying she used her "tongue from Satan" to curse him, according to court records. He was arrested and charged with first-degree attempted murder.

Lyudmila Pavlik's current condition is unclear.

Since the October 2016 attack, Vladimir Pavlik has been shuttled from jail to Eastern State Hospital and back for treatment and evaluation for mental illness.

A judge is now set to review records from a series of stays at Eastern State Hospital along with the results from the numerous evaluations and tests to determine whether Vladimir Pavlik is competent to stand trial.

Debate over mental state

Shortly after his arrest, Vladimir Pavlik, a Ukrainian refugee, was found not competent to stand trial after he blamed demons and voices for telling him to kill his wife.

He was treated at Eastern State Hospital multiple times where Dr. William H. Grant diagnosed him with "passive-aggressive personality features" but said in 2018 that Pavlik did not suffer from psychosis.

While Pavlik would often act confused at the hospital, staff blamed that on a language barrier, with Pavlik mainly speaking Russian. However, Grant and other staff noted Pavlik would speak near-perfect English "when it suits him."

He was ruled competent to stand trial in 2018 and returned to the jail.

Pavlik's public defender requested another competency evaluation in May 2019. That evaluation was delayed about a week while a Russian interpreter was scheduled, according to court records.

On June 13 of that year, a psychologist and interpreter attempted to do the evaluation, but the interpreter was "not agreeable" to doing the evaluation in the jail's attorney booths. Pavlik also "expressed dissatisfaction" with his public defender, telling the psychologist his family was in the process of hiring a private attorney, according to court documents.

The psychologist asked for a new competency evaluation if still necessary following Pavlik's next court date to address his issues with his attorney.

Pavlik was given time to contact his family to find a new attorney, according to court documents.

By July 11, 2019, Pavlik's public defender was replaced by Mark Vovos, a private defense attorney. Vovos was the fourth person to represent Pavlik. He did not respond to requests for an interview.

At the end of October 2019, Vovos requested another competency evaluation, writing that his client continued to hallucinate voices. The evaluation did not take place within the required 14 days due to the need for an interpreter and Vovos' presence.

Pavlik was found not competent to stand trial again. Pavlik struggled to understand why the evaluator was there, the evaluator wrote in court documents.

A 90-day competency restoration treatment was ordered on Jan. 13, 2020. Pavlik went back to Eastern State Hospital and was found competent to stand trial in July 2020.

Pandemic postponement

Vovos disagreed with the finding of competency, according to court documents, and said the COVID-19 pandemic caused delays in scheduling an independent psychological evaluation.

Vovos began scheduling testing and interviews with defense experts, according to court documents. Due to the pandemic and restrictions on jail access, these appointments were difficult to schedule, court documents indicate.

Pavlik's case continued to be delayed through the end of 2021 as those evaluations were completed.

In January 2022, Vovos asked a judge to determine Pavlik's legal competency based on the evaluations by defense experts.

Because more than a year had passed since the state evaluated Pavlik, prosecutors wanted him to be reevaluated by Eastern State Hospital.

Pavlik was again ordered to be sent to Eastern State Hospital on March 17, 2022, for 90 days of competency restoration treatment. He didn't arrive to the hospital until July , according to court documents.

In August, a doctor at Eastern asked the court to authorize involuntary administration of antipsychotic medication. It's unclear if that request was granted, but later medical records indicate he never took antipsychotic medication.

Last October, an Eastern State Hospital report indicates doctors believe Pavlik is "seemingly making efforts to misrepresent his true abilities and functioning."

Pavlik was able to participate in programs at Eastern State Hospital, assist in his medical care and denies having mental illness, the report said. However, when asked questions about the legal or competency process, Pavlik would give incoherent answers.

In December, Vovos again requested a hearing to determine competency. Vovos submitted a declaration saying Pavlik does not understand the criminal justice system or the charges against him.

A contested competency hearing is set for March 31 and is expected to last almost a full day.

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