CASPER, Wyo. — A trial date has been set for George Kevin Dickerson, the Casper man accused of a deadly attack on an elderly couple in Paradise Valley earlier this year.
The five-day trial was set for Dec. 4, 2023, at a status conference last Friday, July 28, before Seventh Judicial District Judge Josh Eames.
Dickerson, 61, was charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. He is presumed innocent until proven or pleading guilty.
Dickerson entered dual pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental illness or defect in February. He has been jailed on a $600,000 cash-only bond since his arrest.
Having entered the mental illness or defect defense, Dickerson was then evaluated by Wyoming State Hospital Criminal Justice Service examiners at the Natrona County Detention Center.
Examiners were ordered to submit a report on whether they believe Dickerson has a mental illness or deficiency, and whether such a condition meant Dickerson lacked “substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or conform to requirements of law” during the alleged conduct.
With the report in hand, Public Defender Marty Scott and District Attorney Dan Itzen agreed on the trial date last Friday.
Casper police responded to the residence the morning of Jan. 9, 2023, and found Andy William Martin Jr. (Dickerson’s father-in-law) beaten and stabbed to death. Rose Dennis, Dickerson’s mother-in-law, was found in critical condition with similar injuries, but she survived the attack.
Investigators found a paring knife on the floor beside the victims.
Police say Dickerson called 911 himself to report “a double homicide” the morning after the attack.
Dickerson reportedly said, “Andy came at me and I just lost it. … Rose jumped on me and I knocked her up against the wall and it just went from there.”
“I think my brain is broken,” Dickerson reportedly said upon meeting with an officer at the Loaf ‘N Jug in his neighborhood near the Sunrise Shopping Center, according to the affidavit.
Interviews with Dickerson and other family members indicate that the family had been securing the services of home healthcare workers to care for the elderly couple due to their declining health.
Family members said Martin’s own condition, including a brain injury, made him sometimes difficult to get along with, he could be abusive toward the home healthcare workers, some of whom declined to come back.
The state believes Dickerson drove out to the victims’ home the night of Jan. 7 to confront Martin about the situation, and the subsequent argument escalated into the murder and assault.
