Wright transferred to mental-health hospital

Ten days after being declared mentally unfit to stand trial, the Thibodaux man who allegedly beheaded his special-needs son was transferred to a mental-health facility in Jackson, La., where doctors will work to restore his competency.

Jeremiah Lee Wright, 30, 414 W. Seventh St., Thibodaux, allegedly confessed to investigators that he decapitated and dismembered 7-year-old Jori Lirette at their home on Aug. 14. Police found the child’s head near the roadside while Wright allegedly overlooked the scene from the home’s porch.

Wright said he killed Jori because he was “tired of taking care of him,” and he placed the head near the road so the child’s mother and Wright’s live-in girlfriend Jesslyn Lirette would “feel stupid,” according to the arrest report.

Wright has yet to enter a plea.

District Judge John LeBlanc stalled the criminal proceedings and ordered Wright’s transfer to the forensics division of East Louisiana Mental Health Hospital after a court-appointed panel submitted evidence that said Wright was “not competent” and “lacked the capacity to understand the proceedings.”

LeBlanc said there was “a preponderance of evidence that the defendant is incapable of assisting counsel and unable to understand the nature of the proceedings.”

LeBlanc ordered doctors to submit monthly reports on Wright’s treatment. State law requires reports every six months, but the forensic division can supply them sooner, defense attorney and Capital Defense Project of Southeastern Louisiana Director Kerry Cuccia said after Tuesday’s hearing.

The judge sealed the experts’ testimony under a court order and scheduled a status hearing for 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 31, 2012 in Division E.

During the competency hearing, LeBlanc said he would request a rapid transfer. The hospital is known for being short on available beds, Cuccia said.

Richard Richoux, a New Orleans psychiatrist, and Daphne Glindmeyer, of Gretna, examined Wright on Sept. 23 and Sept. 26, respectively, at the Lafourche Parish Detention Center, where Wright was held in isolation. Richoux filed his report with the court on Sept. 28 and Glindmeyer did so on Oct. 10.

Cuccia said afterward professionals would “diligently work to restore Mr. Wright.”

Neither the state nor the defense submitted other evidence before the court. No objections were filed, and the psychiatrists were not cross-examined.

District Attorney Cam Morvant said he read the reports and was “satisfied with the manner in which the reports were conducted.”

Morvant retained two psychiatrists for the insanity commission. The state’s experts met with Wright and filed reports with Morvant, but the district attorney opted not to submit the findings before the court.

“I cannot get into any conclusions,” he said.

The state has not decided whether or not it will pursue the death penalty, Morvant said.

Jori was born three months premature, had cerebral palsy and suffered from heart complications. He used a feeding tube and wheelchair and was limited in speech, family members have said.

Jesslyn sighed heavily as LeBlanc read his ruling. A chorus of sniffling permeated the silent courtroom after Wright was escorted out. Before he left, Wright made eye contact with Jesslyn and the right side of his face twitched into a half-smile.

Dressed in red prison garb, with his hands and feet shackled, Wright sat in the jury box during the hearing. He mumbled when LeBlanc briefly quoted the insanity commission’s findings. His comments were incoherent from where the public was seated, and Cuccia would not reveal what Wright said once court let out.

Family members filled the first row and half of the second row in LeBlanc’s courtroom, which had only a few open seats.

Dale Lirette Sr., Jori’s grandfather, said days after the hearing that the family wants the trial to resume as quickly as possible so that it can achieve a semblance of closure.

“The family, none of them are happy about it,” Lirette said. “I don’t see how they can find him crazy. … To me, he wasn’t.

“We want to get this all behind us and get it over with and know that justice is being served.”

Jori was a second grader at South Thibodaux Elementary. Family members said in August that he loved to watch cartoons, particularly the “Toy Story” movie series and “Spongebob SquarePants.” He also liked the thumping bass of Linkin Park songs, enjoyed drawing and is remembered as child who loved humor.

“He would laugh, laugh and laugh and, sometimes, we just wondered what he was laughing at,” Lirette said in August. “Then we would crack up because he was cracking up.”

Jeremiah Wright is escorted out of the Lafourche Parish Detention Center by Officer Stanley Jones, who is followed by Det. Kevin Johnson and Agent Aaron Montez. COURTESY PHOTO