By Adam Roberts, Ka’Tani Gouch
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BENTONVILLE, Arkansas (KHBS) — A man accused of trying to kill his grandfather was arrested by Bentonville police on Saturday.
According to a probable cause report, 23-year-old Jay Simmermon started last Saturday off by calling his brother. During the conversation, he asked if his brother was artificial intelligence and then hung up.
The report says, Simmermon’s brother asked their grandparents to check on Jay because he was staying by himself at their parents’ house while they were out of the country.
Simmermon’s grandmother told police that Simmermon was running around the house naked, ranting about his family being artificial intelligence.
The witness said she saw him light a pile of electronics on fire in the backyard.
Soon after, she said she saw Simmermon’s grandfather on fire on the ground and Simmermon stomping on him.
When police got to the scene, they sent the grandfather to the hospital. He was unconscious, and 60% of his body was severely burned. He was considered unlikely to survive as of Sunday night.
“Whether or not a victim survives an attack does have a big bearing on what ultimately is charged; at a minimum, it could go from an attempted homicide to an actual homicide,” said Benton County Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Robinson.
Police went into the house and found Simmermon naked in his bedroom with burns on his feet.
At the hospital, an officer overheard Simmermon tell doctors his grandfather wasn’t a real human being but was an entity obstructing his spiritual transformation.
“The bar for a person to not be responsible for their actions in Arkansas because of a mental disease or defect is pretty high,” Robinson said. “There’s one evaluation that first assesses whether or not a person is fit to stand trial. Then there could be a second evaluation to determine if they should be held responsible for their actions, or did their mental disease have such an impact on them at the time that we can’t hold them responsible.”
A family member told police Simmermon had never behaved this way in the past, had just graduated from college, and did not know of any mental illness diagnoses.
A court ordered that a public defender be appointed. Simmermon is scheduled to appear in court on July 21.
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