Man accused of killing baby to undergo mental evaluation

WYNNE, Ark. – A man accused in the death of his baby daughter whose body was found abandoned in a camper-trailer is to undergo mental examinations.

Cross County Circuit Judge L.T. Simes granted a request Monday from Jason Hann’s attorney that Hann be evaluated at the State Hospital in Little Rock.

The judge also granted a request from defense lawyer Ray Waters of Augusta to appoint another lawyer for Hann’s co-defendant and the baby’s mother, Krissy Werntz.

Hann, 27, and Werntz, 23, were arrested in Portland, Maine, on Arkansas warrants in the death of 5-month-old Montana Jean Hann. They are charged with capital murder, and prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty against the two. Throughout the court proceeding Monday, Werntz hung her head and sobbed.

The baby’s body was wrapped in plastic and hidden in a camper-trailer that was later bought at an auction at Wynne, police say. A Benton man who bought the camper discovered the body while cleaning the camper Feb. 18.

An infant boy was taken from the transient couple when they were arrested later in Maine. The baby was diagnosed with rib, skull and leg fractures. He remains in foster care in Maine.

Hann also faces a murder charge in Vermont in connection with the death of another baby.

The judge Monday appointed Chief Public Defender Dan McGill to represent Werntz. Simes also granted a request from Waters to appoint Little Rock attorney Latrece Gray to help represent Hann.

Gray, a capital murder defense specialist with the Arkansas Public Defender Commission, will serve as lead counsel, Waters said.

Waters also complained about difficulties he said he had getting the final medical examiner’s autopsy report.

“There was substantial evidence submitted to the medical examiner’s office,” he said. “If we go down there, knock on the door and say ‘We want to see the file,’ they’re going to say ‘No.’ I hope we get it done this week.”

Hann and Werntz were jailed without bond at the Cross County Jail.