BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A judge has dismissed a murder case stemming from the killing of a Bellingham accountant.

Court records state that a judge found 61-year-old Donald Malone incompetent to stand trial during a hearing in Whatcom County Superior Court Thursday, May 14. The decision followed an evaluation that diagnosed Malone with an unspecified schizophrenia disorder and a neurocognitive disorder due to a traumatic brain injury, among other conditions.

My Bellingham Now previously reported that Malone turned himself into the sheriff’s office a day after Vaughn Hagen was found dead in Custer last August.

Hagen was the executor of Malone’s late mother’s will and had offered to help Malone clean out his parent’s garage.

According to court documents, Malone told detectives he shot Hagen several times without saying a word after Hagen showed up at the house. Malone would later tell detectives that he didn’t like Hagen, without giving any reason why.

The judge ordered that Malone be taken for a 72-hour evaluation to determine whether he stays in a state-operated psychiatric hospital.