PANAMA CITY — A Fountain man accused of plotting to bind and torture his girlfriend until death has been deemed mentally unfit to stand trial, according to court documents.
Paul Thomas Carhart, 64, was found incompetent to proceed with a trial on charges related to an incident in which officials said he attempted to kill his girlfriend. Circuit Judge Brantley Clark ruled on the decision at May’s end, but intermittent meetings still are scheduled because the court reserved that the ruling could be reversed, court documents indicated.
The medical cause for Carhart’s mental issues remains unclear.
Carhart claimed during an interview that jail doctors performed impromptu brain surgery on him against his will following his arrest. He said they removed a portion of his frontal lobe. However, federal law protects the confidentiality of medical records.
Carhart’s defense attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
Bay County Jail Warden Rick Anglin said no surgeries of any kind are performed at the jail.
“We don’t even have an operating room,” he said.
Carhart is scheduled to appear in court again July 28 on charges of attempted felony murder and false imprisonment.
Carhart initially was arrested in September while attempting to leave a Greenbriar Drive home. A small group of people in the neighborhood were pointing frantically at his car and calling out for the officers to prevent Carhart’s escape, according to Bay Copunty Sheriff’s Office reports.
When deputies spoke with Carhart, he stated he intended to kill his girlfriend, Nancy Helms, and had fantasized about it for months, BCSO reported. Investigators said he planned first to mutilate and torture her using various tools in front of a mirror so she would be forced to watch.
Helms said she had told Carhart he would have to move out of her home, and he went into a rage, according to investigators. For nearly four hours Helms struggled against Carhart, attempting to escape to a neighbor’s home, she reportedly told authorities. She had been beaten and strangled and her head slammed on the concrete, she said.
Carhart allegedly also tried to duct tape her hands and told authorities he intended to torture Helms before a bathroom mirror so she could watch her demise, BCSO said.
EMS arrived and began to administer aid to Helms in a neighbor’s home. She appeared to be in severe pain and going in and out of consciousness from having been struck several times in the face, BCSO reported.
BCSO deputies were able to stop Carhart and put him in a patrol car, where he told them he had hurt his girlfriend, the officers reported.
Carhart was charged with attempted felony murder and false imprisonment. He remains in custody on a combined $150,000 bond.