Cedar Rapids teen competent for trial in parents’ deaths

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A 17-year-old charged with killing his parents has been found competent to stand trial in the stabbing deaths of his parents. A judge ruled Friday that mental health evaluations performed on Ethan Alexander Orton found he was capable of understanding the proceedings. Orton, who is being tried as an adult, is accused of killing his parents with a knife and ax at their Cedar Rapids home on Oct. 14. Court proceedings were delayed for the mental health tests after Orton’s attorneys said in a motion they believed he had mental health issues. Orton is accused of killing 42-year-old Casey Arthur Orton and 41-year-old Misty Scott-Slade.