Murder suspect pleads not guilty

By Kevin O’Brien

An Abbotsford man accused of murdering his two daughters and attempting to kill his wife last summer has pled not guilty due to mental disease or defect. Manuel Victor Gomez Acosta, 30, was in Clark County Circuit Court last Wednesday to face two charges of first-degree homicide and one charge of attempted first-degree homicide following an incident at his family’s home in Abbotsford on July 5 of last year.

Gomez-Acosta was originally declared unfit to stand trial and ordered to undergo treatment at the Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison. At a Sept. 5 competency hearing, Judge Lynsey Boon Brunette ordered that Gomez-Acosta be committed for treatment based on a doctor’s report.

The “defendant can and will be restored to competency within the statutory time period of 12 months,” according to online court records. On Dec. 18, Gomez-Acosta was declared competent to stand trial, and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for Jan. 29.

Gomez-Acosta, who is back in custody at Clark County Jail, appeared via video in court last week, along with his attorney, Joseph J. Kaupie. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

Judge Boon Brunette found enough evidence to proceed with the case, and Gomez-Acosta was bound over for trial. Astatus conference was scheduled for March 5.

A criminal complaint filed on July 9 says officers responded to Gomez-Acosta’s home on Oak Street during the early morning hours of July 5 after a stabbing was reported. Officers met with his wife, who had suffered a total of 17 stab wounds to the arms and abdomen. She was transported to the

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emergency room and later underwent surgery.

Gomez-Acosta was arrested and taken to the hospital for treatment of cuts to his chest.

The bodies of the defendant’s two children were found inside the family’s home. The wife said she and her daughters were asleep when they were attacked.

According to court records, Gomez-Acosta also faces misdemeanor charges after being arrested on suspicion of drunk driving (second offense) on June 17 of last year. In December, he entered pleas of not guilty in that case.

Gomez-Acosta remains in custody on a $1 million bond.