Trial On Hold For Man Accused Of Killing 3 In Maple Grove: Report

MAPLE GROVE, MN — A man accused of killing three family members with a wrench last summer in Maple Grove was deemed incompetent to stand trial during an October hearing, according to a report.

David Ekers, 36, of Plymouth, was charged in July 2020 with three counts of second-degree murder after his mother, sister and grandmother died following an attack at their Maple Grove home earlier that month.

All three were hospitalized on July 8 with serious head injuries after Maple Grove police responded to a call from Ekers’ father, who said his son attacked his family, as previously reported.

Police arrested Ekers, who admitted he was trying to kill his mother Linda Ekers; sister Eleanor Ekers; and grandmother Darlene Broste with a wrench, according to the criminal complaint against Ekers. He said he did not attack his father because he viewed him as “an ally,” the complaint states.

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Police said Ekers believed his relatives would make him return to the hospital for treatment or start taking his medication again.

Broste, 86, died July 9 from her injuries, according to officials. Eleanor Ekers, 34, died July 22, while Linda Ekers, 63, died July 29, police said.

A Hennepin County District Court judge recently ruled that David Ekers was incompetent to stand trial on the charges he is facing, as his “psychotic thinking” impairs his ability to participate in his defense, the Star Tribune reported.

Judge Lisa Janzen also wrote in her ruling that multiple doctors diagnosed Ekers with schizophrenia and said his mental state was influenced by a history of energy drink abuse, the report states.

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Ekers was voluntarily committed in 2018 for mental health psychiatric treatment and hospitalized in 2019 after saying his parents were “impostors” and claiming that a “broadcast device (was) implanted in his tooth,” the Star Tribune reports.

Ekers will continue to receive psychiatric treatment at the Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center until the next hearing on his competency, which is scheduled for April 26, according to the report.

Find the full story at the Star Tribune.