'Competency' Complicating Manchester Hammer Attack Case: Records

MANCHESTER, CT — The case of a woman being tried for murder related to a springtime hammer attack in Manchester is being complicated by the question of competency, case records indicate.

Court records show that 72-year-old Dalas Elder is slated to undergo treatment at Whiting Forensic Hospital in Middletown. A judge recently determined Elder would not be able to understand the proceedings against her or aid in her own defense.

Elder has been in state custody on a $750,000 since being charged with murder in April.

The attack took place on April 23, according to police reports. Elder was also charged with first-degree assault, first-degree assault on an elderly person, tampering with evidence, carrying a dangerous weapon and interfering with an officer.

She is due back in court on Feb. 11, according to judicial system records.

The murder charge was added after the victim, 73-year-old Andrea Mazzoli, died on April 28 at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, where she was taken after the attack, authorities said.

According to a police report, Mazzoli was found lying on the ground outside an apartment building at 619 Hartford Road with injuries consistent with those made by a hammer.

Reviews of surveillance footage, showed a resident of the building walking with a hammer in a hallway near the spot where Mazzoli was located, a report indicates.

The person with the hammer was then identified as Elder and Elder was arrested, authorities said.