Israel Melvin To Receive Mental Evaluation in Second Degree Murder Case

Court proceedings for a Sheridan man accused of killing his own mother have been put on hold.

Twenty-two year old Israel Melvin is facing one charge of second degree murder in the death of his mother, 64-year old Leonila Melvin.

During his initial hearing, Israel was unable to answer some initial questions asked by Fremont County Judge Jefferson Coombs and said he was currently taking medication for schizophrenia.

Judge Coombs suspended court proceedings and ordered a mental evaluation for Israel and noted that Israel had undergone 4 mental evaluations in 2023 for other court cases, and he was found incompetent to proceed in all of them.

On Sunday, January 7th, Sheridan Police Officers received a call from a man who had found his wife deceased in their home on Gladstone Street.

Officers arrived on scene and found Leonila Melvin deceased and the Sheridan County Coroner identified the cause of death as blunt force trauma.

During the course of the investigation, detectives developed probable cause to arrest Israel Melvin, on suspicion of committing Second Degree Murder.

Israel was already in police custody on unrelated drug charges when Leonila’s body was found.

Originally Sheridan County Circuit Court Judge Sheryl Bunting was to oversee the initial hearing, but she recused herself stating there was a possible conflict of interest, hence Judge Coombs was brought in.