He battered an elderly man and killed his mother, police say. Is he fit for trial?
Police say Michael McPherson embarked on a week of brutal violence in early February that started with the beating of an elderly man in Key West and culminated with the shooting death of his mother in Jacksonville.
McPherson’s defense attorneys in the Florida Keys now say the 21-year-old may not be fit for trial.
Assistant Monroe County public defender Kevin McCarthy wrote in a motion filed last Friday that during conversations he’s had with McPherson, the Key West High School graduate “has made comments that indicate he does not appreciate the charges against him, how the system works or the penalties that he is facing.”
McCarthy, who declined to comment on the case Wednesday, wants mental health experts to evaluate McPherson’s competency to stand trial. A judge granted the motion Thursday.
“Additionally, [McPherson] may be unable to manifest appropriate courtroom behavior,” McCarthy wrote. “The defendant may be unable to assist defense counsel in preparation for trial.”
McPherson, who comes from a well-known Key West family — his uncle is a former city mayor and his father the former chief financial officer of Historic Tours of America — faces a felony count of battery of a person 65 years old or older. He’s accused of beating Peter Diaz, 86.
The two were quietly sitting in Diaz’s yard on Feb. 2 before McPherson became enraged, and without warning, began to pound on the octogenarian’s head and body, police say. A friend of both men pulled McPherson off Diaz, and as he left the property, McPherson yelled, “What did I do?” according to a Key West Police Department report.
Three days later, on Feb. 5, police say McPherson murdered his mother, Stacey McPherson-Dillon, 45, in their home on San Servera Drive in Jacksonville, police say.
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office deputies found her body around 6:45 that night. She had “what appeared to be at least one gunshot wound,” according to the sheriff’s office.
For reasons Jacksonville investigators have not explained, Michael McPherson was a suspect in the murder almost immediately. He left Jacksonville for the Keys, and was arrested by Monroe sheriff’s deputies when he entered Key Largo the next day.
Monroe deputies said they found a handgun inside his Toyota SUV.
It’s not clear when McPherson and his mother moved to Jacksonville. McPherson-Dillon divorced her husband, Michael’s father, in 2009. Michael McPherson graduated from Key West High School in 2016.
McPherson is in county jail on Stock Island on a $10,000 bond on the battery charge.
David Chapman, spokesman for the Duval County State Attorney’s Office, said when that case is resolved, McPherson will be transferred basck to Jacksonville to face a second-degree murder charge.
This story was originally published March 5, 2020 at 7:34 AM.
