Mistrial declared in ex-Nevada inmate’s 2nd Colorado trial

GOLDEN, Colo. (AP) — The trial of a former Nevada prison inmate accused of the 1984 killing of a suburban Denver woman has ended in a mistrial after his lawyers requested an evaluation to determine if he is mentally competent to stand trial. The judge declared a mistrial a day after opening statements in Alex Ewing’s trial in the death of Patricia Smith. The request is sealed so it’s not known why the evaluation was requested. Ewing was convicted in August of killing three members of a Denver area family in 1984 and sentenced to three consecutive life sentences. Those killings happened six days after he’s accused of killing Smith.