Man accused of killing 2 people at SLO County beach may finally face trial — 21 years later
The case of a man accused of murdering two people at Morro Strand State Beach is finally moving forward in court — 21 years after the crime.
Stephen Deflaun is accused of murdering an 11-year-old boy and his uncle after an argument over a campsite at the beach in north Morro Bay in July 2001. He allegedly fatally shot the two before firing at a park ranger, The Tribune reported at the time.
Deflaun, 63, was expected to never be able to stand trial, but was recently found to be competent enough to stand trial. On Wednesday, a judge scheduled a preliminary hearing in the case for next month.
Deflaun was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and failed every competency hearing for three years until a judge ordered him to remain at Atascadero State Hospital or another mental health institution indefinitely or until he was competent in July 2004.
Allan Roske, a forensic psychologist at Atascadero State Hospital at the time, said in a 2004 court hearing that Deflaun, then 45, would likely never be able to stand trial, according to Tribune archives.
“It’s doubtful he’ll have a change he’ll have a change in his paranoid delusional system,” Roske said in the 2004 court hearing. “In all likelihood, he’ll be institutionalized for the rest of his life.”
At the time, Deflaun’s delusions made him believe conspirators could hear his thoughts as they plotted to kill him, Roske said. Deflaun did not think he had a mental illness, a common symptom of severe mental illness known as anosognosia.
Deflaun entered a conservatorship with the county shortly after he was deemed incompetent in July 2004. While he remains in the conservatorship, a judge ruled in December 2021 that he was now competent to stand trial.
Deflaun is charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a firearm and one count of assault with a firearm upon a peace officer or firefighter. He remained in San Luis Obispo County Jail custody as of Wednesday morning.
Deflaun’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 23 and a pre-preliminary hearing for May 11.
This story was originally published April 13, 2022 at 11:14 AM.
