Man charged in 2023 north Lincoln homicide deemed mentally incompetent

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A man accused in a 2023 homicide in Lincoln’s North Bottoms neighborhood is being committed to a psychiatric hospital.

On Thursday, a judge ruled that 46-year-old Alaric Harden is not mentally competent to stand trial.

Harden will be treated at the Lincoln Regional Center until he becomes competent, according to the judge’s order.

SEE ALSO: LPD gives update on arrest in 2023 homicide at north Lincoln home

On Dec. 19, 2023, officers went to a home near 12th and New Hampshire streets on a welfare check.

The front door was barricaded, and police said they smelled natural gas coming from the home.

When firefighters got inside, they found Harden “relatively alert,” according to court documents. He was taken to a hospital to be treated for natural gas exposure.

SEE ALSO: Police identify 76-year-old man found dead inside north Lincoln home

Then firefighters discovered the body of 76-year-old Larry Cole in the living room.

He had blunt force trauma to the head and 35 stab wounds, police said.

Authorities think he had been dead for several days.

SEE ALSO: 76-year-old found dead in north Lincoln home; man accused of hiding body

Investigators found a knife in the kitchen that had Harden’s DNA on the handle and Cole’s DNA on the blade, according to an arrest affidavit.

Harden was initially charged with concealing human remains.

He was also arrested on unrelated charges and placed in the Lancaster County Jail.

While he was locked up, police said he told fellow inmates that he killed Cole.

Harden was charged with first-degree murder in January.

The judge has scheduled a for May 20 to reassess Harden’s mental state.