Judge orders mental health evaluation for man who killed girlfriend by shooting her in the face

By Joe Johnson

A judge has ordered a mental health evaluation for a man accused of murder for fatally shooting his girlfriend in the face last year.

The order was issued after defense attorneys filed notice of intent to raise issues of insanity or mental illness in their defense of Kendall Boone, who in November was arrested for killing 48-year-old Esnati Gurura in their apartment on Royale Road.

Boone was subsequently indicted by a grand jury on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

In her order, Western Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Lisa Lott instructed the state Department of Human Resources to conduct a mental health evaluation to determine the degree of responsibility Boone had at the time that he killed Gurura.

Findings of the evaluation will be used in a bench trial presided over by Lott in which she will rule on whether Boone must stand trial for murder or be remanded to a state psychiatric hospital.