SAN ANTONIO – A Bexar County judge has placed the murder trial of Malik Pryor on hold following concerns about his mental competency.
Pryor is accused of the May 2022 strangulation death of his neighbor, 39-year-old Jarrod Anthony Papen.
Authorities say Papen was found dead in Pryor’s apartment, allegedly strangled with an electrical cord. According to affidavits, the two neighbors had ongoing disputes and several heated arguments before the incident.
During a hearing on Monday, Pryor’s defense attorney, Lorraine Efron, requested a new mental health evaluation for her client. Efron argued that Pryor’s mental capacity may have been affected by multiple concussions sustained while playing high school football.
“He does have a history with mental illness. He’s actually a high school football player that suffered many concussions,” Efron said in court.
Efron added that a prior evaluation found Pryor competent but required him to continue taking psychotropic medications to retain competency. However, she noted that Pryor has not been compliant with his medication regimen in jail and has refused to take them.
She explained that because he wasn’t taking his medications, she was worried he had regressed and may now be not competent.
When questioned by Judge Joel Perez about his medication compliance, Pryor claimed he was taken off his medications by a nurse, though the validity of this claim was unclear.
Judge Perez ordered another evaluation but stressed the need for the case to move forward soon.
“I just need things to be done so this gentleman can have his day in court,” Perez said.
Until the evaluation is completed, the case remains on hold. If found guilty, Pryor faces up to life in prison.