Bonelli ruled Incompetent to Stand Trial

A judge has found an 86-year-old Oconee County man incompetent to stand trial for double murder. On Tuesday, Judge Cordell Maddox signed an order that Nicholas Bonelli lacks the competency to stand trial. Investigators said Bonelli killed 82-year-old Clarine Smith, whom he lived with, and Smith’s great-niece, 63-year-old Sandra Smith Myers of Seneca, who was visiting the Westminster home last November. Autopsies found Smith died of blunt force injuries to the head, and Myers died of a stab wound to the chest. On March 20, Bonelli was set to enter a plea of guilty but mentally ill, but the judge would not accept the plea, saying he had concerns that the judicial system might lose track of Bonelli in the mental health system. The judge heard from experts who helped him assess Bonelli’s mental state before he made the decision.  In the event Bonelli regains competency, the charges remain pending.