Is son accused of killing mom, ex-Knaus Berry Farm owner, incompetent for trial?
Two psychologists had conflicting views whether the son of the former co-owners of Knaus Berry Farm — charged with beating his mother to death — was competent to stand trial.
Ralph Richardson, a court-appointed clinical psychologist, said in a Friday court hearing there is “not a substantial likelihood” that Travis Grafe’s competency will be restored in the “foreseeable future.”
But Manuel Alvarez, another psychologist who evaluated Grafe, said he was able to answer his questions without issue. Grafe, he added, was not impulsive or inappropriate and stayed on task.
“Competency is at the time assessed,” Alvarez said. “What I saw was a competent person, in my opinion.”
The dueling testimonies came after several psychologists evaluated Grafe. Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Laura Gonzalez-Marques found Grafe incompetent to stand trial in March. The expert testimony will continue at a later date.
Grafe, 43, sat in the jury box in an orange jail jumpsuit throughout the hours-long hearing, occasionally putting his head down and looking off in the distance as the psychologists testified before Gonzalez-Marques.
READ MORE: Son now charged with murder in the attack on Knaus Berry Farm owners, records show
Grafe was charged with murder and aggravated battery on a person 65 or older in the Feb. 17, 2023, beating of his parents at their South Miami-Dade home. Police said Grafe beat his mother and father — Rachel Knaus Grafe and her husband, Herbert Grafe, with a flashlight over money disputes.
Rachel, 66, died on March 5, 2023, as a result of her injuries after a two-week hospital stay. Rachel was one of the daughters of Ray Knaus, the late Knaus Berry Farm co-founder. She and her sister, Susan Blocker, had run Knaus with their husbands for years.
Grafe suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was 14, almost three decades ago, Assistant Public Defender Lauren Dawson said. Two previous criminal cases against Grafe — one in 2001 in Tampa and another in 2013 in Miami — were dismissed due to Grafe being found incompetent, without the chance of his competency being restored, the attorney added.
In his testimony, Richardson said he noticed that, due to his brain injury, Grafe has poor impulse control, decision-making and judgment and struggles to stay on task. Richardson said he believed it was “extremely unlikely” that Grafe’s brain injury would improve.
“He could be a little worse. He could be the same,” Richardson testified. “But I would not expect him to [improve much.]”
Knaus Berry Farm is visited by thousands of people each season, who stand in long lines for the finger-sticking cinnamon rolls, homemade pies and jams or the strawberry shakes, made from the strawberries grown in fields behind the market. In August, the beloved South Miami-Dade business, which Ray Knaus and his brother started as a small roadside stand selling strawberries in the 1950s, announced that it had new ownership. The new owners, comprised of local investors, moved down the road from Southwest 248th Street to 16790 SW 177th Ave.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Oct. 3, during which the judge will set the next date of the competency hearing.
At the end of Friday’s hearing, Grafe, before being escorted out of the courtroom by corrections officers, waved at a few of his family members who attended the hearing.
He told them he loved them.
This story was originally published September 26, 2025 at 4:38 PM.
