Competency Evaluation Yet to be Completed for Woman Accused of Attacking Husband with Swords

Almost six months after court proceedings were suspended to determine the competency for a northeast Iowa woman to stand trial for attacking her husband with a pair of swords, that evaluation has still yet to be completed.

59-year-old Kim (Bradley) Cannon of Hawkeye was charged with attempted murder, a Class B felony, following her arrest on January 18th by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office. She was accused of striking her husband with swords, causing large cuts to the back of his head and to his face, including one through an eye socket. 

In February, Cannon pleaded not guilty, but in May, her legal counsel filed a motion seeking an evaluation of her competency to stand trial because Cannon “suffers from blackout spells and appears to have severe competency issues.” The prosecution did not resist the motion and a judge ordered court proceedings suspended pending an evaluation of Cannon by a State psychiatrist at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coralville. 

However, Fayette County received a letter last week that the State could not provide the evaluation due to an unprecedented seven-month waiting list and they could only provide outpatient services. The correspondence also included a recommendation list of independent evaluators who could perform the evaluation either in-person or through telehealth.

Friday (11.03), a hearing was set for December 4th in Fayette County District Court to decide which evaluator should be recommended for Cannon.

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