(Stillwater, Okla.) – A Stillwater man accused of using a machete to kill a close friend who was nearly decapitated will undergo a second psychological examination to determine if he is mentally competent to face a first-degree murder charge, a Payne County judge ruled Monday.
Isaiah Zoar Marin, 21, whose lawyers maintain he is psychotic, remains held without bail in the Payne County Jail pending his transportation to the Oklahoma Forensic Center in Vinita, Special District Judge Katherine Thomas ordered Monday.
The victim, 19-year-old Jacob Crockett, was killed on Oct. 29, 2014, in a Stillwater apartment that he shared with his identical twin brother, Jesse Crockett, who was at an orthodontist’s appointment in Edmond when the slaying occurred, court records show.
The Crockett brothers frequently let Isaiah Marin and his brother Samuel Marin spend the night in their apartment, according to the victim’s father, Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. Ben Crockett, who spoke to KUSH after court recessed Monday.
Crockett said that his twin sons “were very loving, fiercely loyal to their friends. They knew these boys (the Marin brothers) since high school – they were all very close. They were buddies.”
“We have no explanation for what happened,” Crockett said sadly. He said that in his 30 years of law enforcement, he never imagined such an horrendous crime would happen in his family.
The defendant, shackled with a belly chain and leg irons in orange jail clothing, showed no emotion when he appeared in court Monday.
Last month, Isaiah Marin was mentally evaluated for the defense by a licensed forensic psychologist, Dr. Jolie Brams, who indicated that Marin “is not currently competent to stand trial,” his court-appointed attorney Peter Astor noted while asking the judge Monday that Brams’ finding be sufficient to find he is not competent.
However, the judge ordered that Isaiah Marin undergo further mental evaluation at the state facility in Vinita.
“The defendant is being treated and receiving medication in jail,” prosecutor Kevin Etherington told the judge, who indicated she would rule on Isaiah Marin’s competency after receiving a report from the Oklahoma Forensic Center.
The defendant’s brother, Samuel Marin, told police “in the past Jacob (the victim) and Isaiah had disagreements because Jacob and Jesse were practicing witchcraft and Isaiah had strong Christian beliefs,” Stillwater Police Detective Lt. Jeff Watts alleged in an affidavit.
However, the victim’s father told a KUSH reporter, “I know my boys are born-again Christians. Whatever distortion was in the suspect’s mind was ill-conceived.”
According to a defense motion for a competency determination, the defendant “has an all-consuming belief that he has been chosen by an interplanetary group named ‘Stellar’ that places demands on him.
“His delusional system is integrated with religiosity and he is anxious and confused between his compulsive but confused religious beliefs and the demands of this interstellar group.”
The defendant has a history of mental illness, with “his first profound episode of psychosis around 18 or 19,” the defense maintains.
The defendant “believes that both he and his attorney were somehow involved in the 1973 movie, ‘The Exorcist,’” according to the defense motion.
In court documents seeking the death penalty, District Attorney Laura Austin Thomas alleged “that the defendant expressed his desire to kill Jesse Crockett, the brother of Jacob. Further that the defendant expressed his desire to kill two of his brothers on the same day of the murder of Jacob Crockett.”
The defendant’s brother, Samuel Marin, told police that he and the defendant “were playing a card game and Jacob (the victim) was in the room with them. Samuel (Marin) stated Isaiah (the defendant) had been watching YouTube videos related to his Christian beliefs and the Book of Matthew.
“Samuel stated while he and Isaiah were playing a card game, Isaiah picked up a large black sword and removed it from a sheath.
“Samuel stated Isaiah stood up and began swinging the sword around. Samuel told Isaiah to be careful or he was going to cut someone.
“Samuel stated Isaiah told him, ’I would never cut you bro.’ Samuel said he was holding some of the game cards in one hand and texting with his other hand.
“Samuel stated he heard a noise described as the sound of someone getting stabbed. He stated he looked up and saw Jacob stand up and blood gushing from his chest.
“Samuel stated Isaiah was still holding the sword,” the affidavit alleged.
“Samuel stated he immediately fled the apartment. He said Isaiah was following him and trying to calm him down.
“Samuel said Isaiah stated he would explain why he killed Jacob from letters he would write while he was in prison,” the affidavit alleged.
“Samuel stated Isaiah told him, he (Isaiah) was going to call the police. Samuel followed Isaiah back to the apartment so he could gather some things and leave.
“Samuel stated once he arrived back at the apartment, he noticed additional stab and cut wounds to Jacob. Samuel said he gathered some clothing and his phone and departed the scene,” the affidavit alleged.
At 2:46 p.m. the same day, a Stillwater police dispatcher received a 911 call from a cell phone in which the caller said, “I murdered someone.” before rambling about sacrificing and magic, the affidavit alleged.
Asked his name, the caller identified himself as Isaiah Marin, and said “I hacked them to death with a machete,” the affidavit alleged.
The defendant, who was covered in blood and carrying a machete while walking on Highway 51, was arrested a few minutes later by Stillwater police, the affidavit said.
The victim’s brother told police that the defendant was a “religious zealot” of the Christian faith and a “heavy drug user,” according to the affidavit.
The victim was a Stillwater High School graduate attending Northern Oklahoma College in Stillwater and also working as a customer service representative at Carmike Cinema of Stillwater.
“We support the DA in seeking the death penalty. We do truly hope the suspect finds the Lord,” the victim’s father said Monday after court recessed.
In a victim impact statement, the victim’s father wrote, “Jacob was 19 years old and had just started college and was working to help pay for expenses.
“He was a happy person, was finding his way and was very giving as was evident in that he shared his food, money, apartment, car and time with Isaiah.
“In this loving setting, Isaiah, unprovoked and unannounced, picked up a weapon and brutally and viciously murdered Jacob.
“Our lives have been wrecked as a result.
“We have suffered with heavy sadness and torment over this horrible and evil and senseless act.
“The details of this violent crime has caused us to fear and wonder about our child’s final moments and what he had to suffer through.
“Our lives are forever changed as a result.”
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