By MADDY VITALE
A man accused of brutally killing his mother at an Ocean City senior citizen housing complex went before a Cape May County judge Wednesday for a detention hearing.
Jeffrey Surgent, 46, of Ocean City, called police about 4 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8, stating that “he suffers from mental illness, and he just killed his mother,” according to authorities.
His 74-year-old mother, Alexandria Surgent, was discovered in the hallway of Speitel Commons. She was decapitated. Her body was also in the hall of the housing complex.
During a brief court hearing, Deputy Public Defender Eric Shenkus asked the court to postpone the detention hearing until his client “had a mental health evaluation.”
“I submit to the court a competency evaluation order,” Shenkus said.
Surgent, shackled and wearing a jail-issued blue jumpsuit, was led into the courtroom by two officers. He sat quietly at the defense table.
Video courtesy of Lynda Cohen, BreakingAC.com
Shenkus told Superior Court Judge Christopher Gibson that he could not prepare a defense until the competency evaluation was completed. Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Hance did not object to his request.
Judge Gibson granted the request to postpone the hearing. The matter is back in court on Jan. 11.
The day of the killing, Surgent was taken into custody without incident and charged with murder and weapons offenses. Authorities have not disclosed what type of weapon was used.
While a court date is set for next month, Shenkus explained in an interview after the proceeding that an evaluation could take some time, roughly six to eight weeks or longer. The next court date will likely be procedural, Gibson said.
Surgent remains in the county jail pending further proceedings.
A competency evaluation is typically a two-step process, Shenkus said. It involves a psychiatrist or psychologist to meet with the defendant and if a conclusion as to competency is not reached, then the defendant would be committed to a state psychiatric hospital for a term of 30 days for further evaluation.
However, it could take longer, depending on whether there is an available bed in the facility, Shenkus said.
The Ocean City Housing Authority oversees Speitel Commons. While it is unclear, officials said that Surgent either lived with or visited his mother often at the 32-unit affordable housing complex located at the corner of Sixth Street and West Avenue.
After the killing, the housing authority provided grief counselors for residents who may have seen the gruesome crime scene.
Alexandria Surgent’s grandson, Chase Surgent, created a GoFundMe page to raise funds for family expenses.
“Without her, we can’t afford rent or food and we cannot pay for her burial or cremation,” the GoFundMe page says.
As of 6 p.m. on Wednesday night, $13,686 of the $15,000 goal was raised. To donate visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/grandmother-murdered-need-money-for-burial
