Judge rules Cedar Rapids man accused of attempted murder is competent

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Cedar Rapids man suspected of faking a mental condition to avoid trial for attempting to kill his wife in 2020 was found competent to stand trial Monday.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Ian Thornhill found Anthony M. Depolis, 32, has been restored to competency, which had delayed court proceedings for more than a year. Thornhill said he had “no doubt” that Depolis understood the nature of the charges, consequences, possible penalties, the legal system and could assist in his defense.

Thornhill said he appreciated observations by Dr. Arnold Andersen, a psychiatrist with the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Coralville, and that he followed the standards of a mental evaluation.

Those strict standards are the reason Andersen said he couldn’t determine within a degree of medical certainty that Depolis was competent. However, Andersen testified at the Monday hearing it was “more probable than not” that Depolis was competent to stand trial.

Andersen, during his evaluation, said he couldn’t determine if Depolis was malingering — faking a mental illness to avoid trial — because Depolis wouldn’t answer all of the evaluation questions, responding “I don’t know” or “I pass” to the majority of questions.

In one of the evaluations with another psychiatrist, Depolis talked about other “realms or dimensions,” but he didn’t exhibit any symptoms of psychosis, Andersen said.

Dr. Gary Keller, another psychiatrist at the Coralville prison, said Depolis didn’t trust the psychiatrists there because they were “state” doctors and he didn’t think they could be impartial, Dr. Gary Keller. Depolis had the ability to answer the questions but he was uncooperative, Keller said, leading him to conclude Depolis understood the charges and would be able to understand the court proceedings.

Depolis said he wasn’t malingering and answered many of the psychiatrists’ questions but didn’t want to answer questions that would hurt his defense, Nekeidra Tucker, one of Depolis’ lawyers, said in a statement to the court. The statement took the place of Depolis testifying during the hearing.

The court proceedings had been temporarily suspended since 2021 pending Depolis being restored to competency.

Depolis is accused of planning to kill his wife, Diana Depolis, 37 at the time, before he stabbed her multiple times July 6, 2020. Depolis told police he had purchased a knife in anticipation of using it against his wife, according to court documents.

Officers were called at about 9 a.m. that day to Creekside Apartments, 3009 12th Ave. SW, where they found Depolis’ wife suffering from a serious stab wound to her neck. She also had defensive injuries to her arms and hands, according to a criminal complaint.

Depolis was at the scene when officers arrived and had blood on his hands and clothing, according to the criminal complaint. Police obtained a search warrant for the apartment and recovered the knife used in the stabbing.

Investigators questioned Depolis at the police department, where he admitted to stabbing his wife, the criminal complaint stated.

He was charged with attempted murder, willful injury and assault while displaying a dangerous weapon (domestic abuse). If convicted on all charges, he faces up to 37 years in prison.

Thornhill, after Monday’s hearing, set Depolis’ trial for Dec. 13 in Linn County District Court.

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