GRAND MARAIS, Minn. — Seven months after he was found incompetent, court proceedings remain suspended for the man accused of fatally bludgeoning a 77-year-old in an “unprovoked” home invasion.

Levi William Axtell, 28, of Grand Marais, met with a mental health evaluator Monday morning to determine if his murder case can resume, said Cook County Attorney Molly Hicken.

A psychologist previously reported to the court that Axtell suffers from severe paranoia, delusions and hallucinations, seeing himself as a “hero” for having killed sex offender and former mayoral candidate Lawrence Vincent Scully.

Levi William Axtell.(Forum News Service)

Axtell, according to court documents, admitted to fatally beating Scully with a shovel and moose antler, several years after he had first accused the victim of stalking his young daughter. Scully had been convicted of a child sex crime more than 40 years prior, but authorities indicated there was no apparent incident leading up to the fatal March 8 attack.

Judge Michael Cuzzo in July suspended criminal proceedings, as it was determined Axtell was incapable of reasonably consulting with his attorney, understanding the charges or participating in his own defense.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services filed a confidential progress report on Aug. 2, but Hicken said an apparent oversight in the language of the competency order prevented the agency from conducting “periodic evaluation” to determine if and when the case may proceed.

The issue was compounded by the fact that Cuzzo retired in October, leaving the North Shore without a regular judge until Steve Hanke took the bench in December.

The prosecutor told Hanke at a hearing Monday that the new evaluation should be submitted to attorneys by the end of the month. The judge set a March 11 hearing to review the findings.

Axtell, according to a criminal complaint, went directly to the Cook County Law Enforcement Center after killing Scully, confessing he had struck the victim 15-20 times with a spade-style shovel before he “finished him off” with a large antler. Scully, a 2014 mayoral candidate, was found “obviously dead” in the home from what a medical examiner described as blunt-force head injuries.

The defendant previously sought a protective order in April 2018, alleging that Scully was “stalking and attempting to groom” his then-22-month-old daughter by engaging in activities such as trying to talk to her while she was on walks at day care. However, Cuzzo denied a permanent order after a hearing, ruling that the “allegations are not proven.”

Scully was convicted of second-degree criminal sexual conduct in Kanabec County in 1979 — a case that garnered attention during his mayoral run — and other protective orders had been sought against him in his final years alleging abuse and harassment.

Axtell reportedly told deputies that he had known Scully for a long time and believed he would reoffend against children, again stating that he had seen the victim “parked in his vehicle at locations where children were present.”

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