Murder charge dropped for man accused in landlord's death

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) — A man charged with killing his Skagit County landlord in 2012 has been found mentally unfit to stand trial.

The Skagit Valley Herald reports that a judge dismissed the second-degree murder charge against Justin Morgan Daly last week in the death of 52-year-old Louis Auriemma. The charge was dismissed without prejudice, meaning prosecutors can re-file it in the future.

Daly has now been ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation to determine whether he is competent to stand trial on an assault charge in a separate case.

Charging documents say he spit on a corrections officer at the Skagit County Jail in April.

Daly's attorney had argued for his client's incompetent finding in the murder case to carry over to the assault case, but the judge denied the request.