Authorities Seeking to Restore Competency in Roommate Poisoning Case

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- Stearns County authorities continue to try to restore competency to a man accused of fatally poisoning his roommate last June.

A District Court judge has ordered another mental competency examination for 36-year-old Stuart Hamner in the death of 33-year-old Cody Ernst. He was found incompetent to face the charges last November.

St. Cloud Police say they learned on June 20th that Ernst had been poisoned with thallium. The CDC describes thallium as a tasteless and odorless heavy metal that "has been used by murderers as a difficult to detect poison".

Court records allege Hanmer and Ernst had coffee together on the morning of May 15th. The charges allege Ernst started experiencing symptoms of dizziness, vomiting, and suffering from "seizure-like" activity later that day. After spending approximately one week at St. Cloud Hospital, Ernst left after refusing placement in a skilled nursing facility.

Ernst eventually ended up at the University of Minnesota Fairview Hospital, where he underwent a heavy metals screening. Court records show it came back positive for a lethal amount of thallium in his system.

Ernst died on June 22nd while at Fairview Hospital.

A grand jury indicted Hamner on one count of 1st-degree premeditated murder and one count of 2nd-degree intentional murder.  His case is on indefinite hold until Hamner can be rehabilitated to aid in his own defense.

A review hearing for Hamner's most recent exam has not been scheduled.