A murder case against a California man accused of killing his wife, dismembering her body and setting it on fire in a suitcase — which he lugged around on public transit before torching it in a Home Depot parking lot — has been suspended after his lawyers raised a doubt of mental competence.
Valentino Gutierrez, 64, allegedly committed the “particularly disturbing” homicide and dismemberment of his wife Tiana Alfred, 31, back in 2018, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. He is charged with murder and arson of property after allegedly strangling Alfred and setting her body parts ablaze at a Home Depot in the 2000 block of Figueroa Street.
Prosecutors told Law&Crime on Wednesday that Gutierrez’s lawyers raised a doubt of mental competence at a hearing on July 17. He is scheduled to appear on July 31 for his mental-competency hearing…