LA GRANDE — Ronald Dwight Lee of La Grande is headed to the Oregon State Hospital in Salem instead of to a murder trial for the death of his wife Loretta Williams.

Lee, 73, was to face a Union County jury in November on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder more than a year after pleading not guilty. But state court records show Circuit Judge Thomas Powers on Tuesday, Oct. 6, signed a order finding Lee is unfit to proceed.

The state has accused Lee of killing Williams in November 2018 at her home in Cove. At the time the two were divorcing.

Lee was hospitalized after suffering a stroke in January 2020 while in custody at the Union County Correctional Facility, La Grande.

He then underwent a mental evaluation.

The court canceled the murder trial after Dr. Michael Saul Farris, a Portland-based psychiatrist, determined Lee was danger to himself or others because of a mental disorder and he requires hospital care due to the dangerousness and the acuity of symptoms of the disorder, according to the judge’s order. The court received Farris’ report Oct. 1.

Lee’s attorney Dean Gushwa, of Pendleton, filed to postpone the trial in January, which Judge Powers granted with no objections from District Attorney Kelsie McDaniel.

“Due to two strokes while in custody at the jail, Mr. Lee has been found to be unable to aid and assist in his defense,” Gushwa said. “The court has ordered that he be transported to the Oregon State Hospital to receive ‘restorative services.’”

Lee remains in custody at the county jail. The Union County Sheriff’s Office will transfer Lee to the Oregon State Hospital.

According to the court order, after a 60-day evaluation, the state will determine if Lee can stand trial in the future. The state also will submit progress reports every 180 days through the length of Lee’s commitment, which will be no more than three years.

Conspiracy to commit murder in Oregon carries a minimum sentence of seven-and-half years, and conviction for murder carries a minimum sentence of 25 years.

The court in May stayed the proceedings in the case against Lee’s co-defendant, Steve Edward Hamilton, 66, of La Grande, pending the outcome of Lee’s case. Hamilton also faces charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Hamilton in March pleaded guilty to two counts of hindering prosecution for providing Lee with transportation and concealing physical evidence.

He remains in the county jail.