Mental status could delay murder trial: Cunningham charged in 2004 stabbing deaths

Before Matthew Cunningham stands trial for the stabbing death of Robert Barker and Katharine Spain in 2004 at the Andante Apartments at 48th Street and Chandler Boulevard, questions about his current and past mental health will have to be resolved.

Mental health professionals determined in 2006 that while Cunningham, 29, hears voices, he understood the two first-degree murder charges against him and the possibility of death by lethal injection if found guilty.

But a second series of tests earlier this year raised some questions about his ability to understand the charges and assist in his own defense.

An evidentiary hearing will take place April 9 in Maricopa County Superior Court in downtown Phoenix to determine if Cunningham’s mental health status has changed since he was last tested.

If he is found competent to assist in his own defense, then defense attorneys plans to have him evaluated to see if he was insane at the time of the stabbings.

Cunningham’s trial is tentatively set for May 14, but will probably be moved to a later date to accommodate testing and evaluations.

Police say that Cunningham set his apartment bed on fire, then stabbed Barker, 38, his roommate, in front of witnesses at the apartment complex pool. According to police, Cunningham then stabbed 28-year-old Spain when she left her 2-year-old son Marlon and walked out of her apartment to see what the commotion was about.

Police say Cunningham then ran through the complex and tried to stab a third neighbor, Gerardo Barrientos, before his wife picked up a baseball bat and beat Cunningham away.

Prosecutors said that Cunningham was high on cocaine at the time of the rampage.

Five of the police officers who responded to the stabbings and eventually subdued Cunningham later received the department’s second highest award, the Medal of Merit, for their quick actions that night.