Morro Bay murder defendant’s mental state questioned in first court appearance

At his first court appearance since being arrested Friday on suspicion of murdering his father in Morro Bay, William Joel Schonberger entered no plea and will be evaluated by two forensic psychologists before returning to court next month.

On Wednesday morning, Schonberger, 22, appeared for an arraignment in San Luis Obispo Superior Court after being held in San Luis Obispo County Jail without bail since Friday, when he allegedly contacted CHP officers in Avila Beach and confessed to injuring a family member.

While the officers detained Schonberger, Morro Bay police discovered his father, William John Schonberger, 59, dead inside the home the two shared on the 400 block of Napa Avenue in Morro Bay.

The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office filed a charge of murder with special allegations for use of a deadly weapon — a machete, according to an office spokesman — on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Schonberger sat in the courtroom clad in a red- and white-striped jumpsuit, looking subdued and mostly staring straight ahead.

When asked by Superior Court Judge Dodie Harman if he had an attorney, Schonberger replied softly that he wanted “a free one.” After Harman indicated she couldn’t hear him, Schonberger said, “I don’t talk very well.”

“This is a murder case which obviously carries a very serious sentence if you are convicted,” Harman told Schonberger. “I think having an attorney is probably a good idea.”

Schonberger agreed, and Harman appointed the Public Defender’s Office, represented at the hearing by attorney Patricia Ashbaugh. Ashbaugh, after speaking with Schonberger and Deputy District Attorney Chase Martin, told Harman she had doubts about her client’s mental competency.

Harman ordered forensic psychologists from both the Public Defender’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office to interview Schonberger and submit reports at a hearing scheduled for Jan. 5.

Schonberger also was appearing on an alleged probation violation; he was convicted in 2014 of possessing child pornography in a case from Los Angeles County and sentenced to three years of probation, which was transferred to San Luis Obispo County when he moved in early 2016.

Court records show that prior to moving to Morro Bay to live with his father, Schonberger had been placed in an involuntary mental health hold and spent time at a mental health facility in San Pedro. Records obtained by The Tribune do not show why he was in contact with mental health officials.

Schonberger will remain in custody at County Jail until the Jan. 5 hearing.

This story was originally published December 14, 2016 at 12:07 PM with the headline "Morro Bay murder defendant’s mental state questioned in first court appearance."