An Ignacio man suspected of killing his stepfather by beating him over the head with a 5-gallon propane tank pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity Tuesday in 6th Judicial District Court.
Richard Silva will be sent to the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo to be evaluated. A team of physicians will form an opinion about whether Silva was insane at the time of the homicide.
If the case goes to trial, it would be up to a jury to determine whether Silva committed the crime and whether he was legally insane at the time of the offense.
In order to be found insane, jurors must agree that Silva was incapable of distinguishing right from wrong or that his mental condition was such that he was incapable of forming the mental state necessary to be found guilty of the charge.
Silva, 31, is charged with second-degree murder for the death of Clayborn Scott.
He is suspected of beating his stepfather with a propane tank May 8, 2012, in the house they both lived in about four miles north of Ignacio and three miles east of Oxford.
Silva’s mother, who was in Durango running an errand, returned home to find her husband bludgeoned to death and a propane tank sitting in a shower with the water running.
Deputies found Silva walking alone on a county road a short distance from the house.
He claimed not to remember anything from the last two days and declined to speak with investigators, according to an earlier interview with an investigator.
Silva’s mother told investigators there was no tension between Silva and Scott.
Family members also said Silva suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after military service in Afghanistan.
shane@durangoherald.com
