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A 77-yearold Nebraska man has been found incompetent to stand trial on allegations he stabbed his son-in-law to death in August. Bayapa Lingala will be treated at the Lincoln Regional Center, The Lincoln Journal Star reported. A Lancaster County judge ordered the move Dec. 9 after a doctor testified that Lingala wasn’t able to understand the charges against him or assist in his defense.
At the short hearing, Lingala sat quietly, a Telugu interpreter at his side, as Deputy Lancaster County Public Defender Webb Bancroft offered a four-page letter from Dr. Mario Scalora, who met with and examined Lingala, the Associated Press reported. It was the doctor’s opinion that Lingala is unable to understand the charges against him or to assist in his defense. But, Bancroft said, Scalora believed there was a “substantial likelihood” that his competency can be restored with treatment and that he could yet face trial.
A retired teacher from Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, Lingala is charged with second-degree murder and use of a knife in the slaying of 46-year-old Sujay Nooka on Aug. 5, at the end of a grandchild’s birthday party in the south Lincoln home they all shared. Nooka died after nearly four hours. His bail is set at $1 million and his Indian passport has been impounded. Lingala faces 70 years in prison if convicted.
Until a bed is available at the regional center, the judge ordered Lingala to be moved from the custody of the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office to the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. A review hearing is set of April, until which the case is on hold.
Sujay Nooka, an engineer, worked at Lincoln Industries as a supply chain manager. He is survived by his father, his wife Uma, brothers Vijay and Hari, and three children Avani, 12, Akash, nine and Arnav, four.
Dr. Uma Nooka, Sujay Nooka’s wife and Lingala’s daughter, told police that her father, who suffers from a bipolar disorder, stabbed her husband with an eight-inch knife. According to Lancaster County court she had prescribed medication to treat her father’s disorder. She told police that Lingala had wanted to return to India and she had opposed it as he could not take care of himself.
