Judge Denies Sanity Motion In Calcasieu Parish Beating Death

LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — A state district court judge has denied a sanity commission request from a 35-year-old Lake Charles man accused of killing his grandmother in 2009.

The American Press reports Carl Webb Jr. is to stand trial Oct. 22 on a charge of first-degree murder. Prosecutors said Webb killed his 75-year-old grandmother, Helen Webb, who died from blunt-force trauma to the head.

Judge Clayton Davis said he denied the motion because the case is two years old and because Webb has previously been through a jury trial. Webb was convicted in April of illegal weapons possession.

Defense attorney Michael McHale was assigned the case in August.

He said conversations with Webb led him to have "serious reservations" about his client's mental health.