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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Attorneys for three South Dakota men accused of murdering someone who was a current or former romantic partner have taken similar steps in recent days: the defense in the three cases has sought a mental health evaluation to examine if the defendant was insane or lacking reason when they committed their alleged crime.
The court documents highlight similarities in how the murder cases against John Mitchell of Sioux Falls, Craig Nichols Jr. of Yankton and Tyson Christians of Sioux Falls are proceeding. Per court papers, Mitchell beat his girlfriend so badly in October 2024 that she was hospitalized. She eventually died of her injuries. Mitchell’s attorney requested a mental health evaluation for his client in a document filed on March 3 to find out if Mitchell was “insane or temporarily or partially deprived of reason” when the alleged crime took place.
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Craig Nichols Jr. stands accused of killing his girlfriend in January when the alleged victim’s headless body was found at a Yankton apartment. In a motion filed on March 10, Nichols’ lawyer is asking for a mental health evaluation that can establish if his client “suffered from a substantial psychiatric disorder of thought, mood, or behavior” when Nichols allegedly committed the crime.
Finally, Tyson Christians stands accused of killing his ex-girlfriend in February, with the alleged victim discovered in the trunk of a car at the Empire Mall parking lot in Sioux Falls. Christians’ attorney asked for a mental health evaluation on March 3; this was granted the same day.
Eventual verdicts of guilty but mentally ill or not guilty by reason of insanity are possible. But South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley says seeing one of these verdicts as the eventual outcome is not at all common.
“I would say they’re very rare,” Jackley said Wednesday. “More often, though, it might occur in a plea agreement that is reached. But typically, they’re not very often given by a jury, but again, you will see them in South Dakota from time to time, fairly rare, but from time to time on a plea agreement reached.”
Jackley also says the prosecution or defense might seek a mental health evaluation.
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