Modesto man found unfit for trial in 2019 death of his father
A Modesto man accused of killing his father suffers from severe mental illness and will not be charged, Stanislaus County District Attorney Birgit Fladager announced in a press release.
Murder charges pending against Bryan Keith Ferriera, 49, of Modesto, have been dismissed but could be refiled in the future if he is found competent.
Ferriera was charged in the death of his father, Wayne Ferriera, in February of 2019. Wayne Ferriera’s daughter found him dead at his home when she went to check on him, according to a Modesto Bee story at the time.
Wayne Ferriera had “obvious signs of trauma and pen markings on his stomach and lower calf,” the news release stated. Bryan Ferriera was found with blood on his hands.
Bryan Ferriera had been making threats to kill his father, authorities said, and had been placed on a three-day hold the previous month to determine whether he was a threat to himself or others.
Bryan Ferriera was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. At his first court appearance, Bryan Ferriera could barely speak.
Criminal proceedings were suspended in March, 2019, while the defendant was examined by a doctor. “The resulting medical report showed that Ferriera suffered from acute schizophrenia and was incompetent to stand trial,” the press release said. Ferriera was committed to a state hospital.
In May, 2020, doctors indicated Ferriera was still incompetent to stand trial and diagnosed him as having schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type, as well as severe cannabis, amphetamine and cocaine use disorders.
Doctors later found there was “no substantial likelihood that the defendant will regain mental competence in the foreseeable future.”
Ferriera was placed in a conservatorship that will be reviewed yearly and sent to a locked state facility. If he is found not to be gravely disabled, charges may be reinstated, prosecutors said, as there is no statute of limitations for murder.
This story was originally published July 11, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
