In brief: Murder suspect ruled competent for trial
A Spokane County Superior Court judge has ruled a 24-year-old accused of stabbing his pregnant girlfriend to death in August 2009 is competent to stand trial, over the objections of his defense team and in spite of multiple rulings finding him mentally incompetent.
Robbie Bishop was arraigned Wednesday before Judge James Triplet, who found him competent to stand trial earlier this month. It is the latest competency determination in a case that has lasted more than five years.
Bishop, who has a lengthy history of mental illness, was arrested in a parked boat near the mobile home he shared with Robin Anderson. Anderson died of 50 stab wounds, and Bishop was covered in blood with cuts on his hands. He has been charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of manslaughter for the death of his unborn child.
Bishop’s attorney has appealed Triplet’s decision, and no trial date has been set. Bishop is in custody of the Spokane County Jail.
Injured bicyclist shows improvement
The condition of a boy injured when he was struck by a car while riding his bicycle in a residential neighborhood in northwest Spokane on Wednesday afternoon has been upgraded, Spokane police reported.
The collision was reported just before 4 p.m. Wednesday at the corner of Nettleton Street and Liberty Avenue, Spokane police spokeswoman Teresa Fuller said. The boy was not wearing a helmet and suffered head injuries. He initially was reported in critical condition, but his condition was upgraded a few hours later and he was talking with paramedics.
Concert to raise money for Nepal
A Spokane-based nonprofit is holding a concert tonight to raise money to help Nepal after devastating earthquakes.
The Benefit for Nepal Concert will feature The Angela Maria Project and Shambhava. It starts at 6 p.m. at the nYne Bar and Bistro, 232 W. Sprague Ave. Suggested donation is $5 to $10. Money will go to the Conscious Connections Foundation, which was founded by Ganesh Himal Trading, a Spokane wholesaler of products made in Nepal.
The foundation’s focus had been improving health care and access to education for girls in Nepal. The charity now is raising money for earthquake relief, and all the money raised will go directly to those efforts, said Sarah Calvin, marketing director for Ganesh Himal Trading.
About $100,000 already has been raised by the foundation for earthquake relief.
Man apparently finds Palouse earthworms
LEWISTON – Spring showers may have brought out the rare giant Palouse earthworm, a creature native to the Palouse.
Earthworm enthusiast Cass Davis, of Moscow, Idaho, found three specimens of what he believes to be the giant earthworm last weekend while hiking along Paradise Ridge Road, the Lewiston Tribune reported.
“It’s more than likely a giant Palouse earthworm, but we can’t confirm that until we do the genetic analysis,” said Chris Baugher, a University of Idaho doctoral candidate studying the species.