State prosecutors are still waiting for a complete psychiatric evaluation of Toai Nguyen, a Shelton man accused of stabbing his sister in October 2010.
Nguyen’s public defender Kenneth Bunker is considering pursuing a defense that Nguyen is not guilty by reason of insanity.
As part of the preparation for that defense, Nguyen underwent a psychiatric evaluation.
The state had a Yale expert review the evaluation, but wants more information to be included in it, according to Charles Stango, senior assistant state’s attorney.
“We want a substance abuse history added to the evaluation,” Stango said during a brief court hearing for Nguyen at Superior Court in Milford Thursday.
Nguyen did not appear at the hearing.
According to police, Nguyen attacked his sister at their Maple Street apartment, and used a knife to slash her throat. She managed to fight him off and run from the apartment. She survived the attack.
Nguyen’s case was continued to Nov. 30, at which Judge Richard Arnold said he expects the psychiatric evaluation to be completed. Nguyen remains incarcerated.
“The evaluation process is ongoing,” Stango said outside of court. “We want everything to be complete before we make any determination on how to proceed.”
The case is headed toward a trial, at which time Nguyen’s defense could be that his mental problems caused him to attack his sister.
Nguyen has a history of mental illness. In 2008, he badly beat his father using the Club, an anti-theft device used on car steering wheels. He served time in prison and was released in 2010.
According to police, Nguyen entered the U.S. without documentation. Authorities tried to deport him after he attacked his father. Officials in Vietnam, his native country, refused to take him.