Jordan Lawyer, 29, of Enosburgh. Photo via Vermont State PoliceST. ALBANS — A Vermont judge ordered a competency evaluation Monday for an Enosburgh man charged with murder and felony assault for allegedly beating his father to death and seriously injuring his mother late last week at a home they all shared.Jordan Lawyer, 29, appeared by video from the Northwest State Correctional Facility for his arraignment Monday afternoon in Franklin County Superior criminal court in St. Albans where he has been held since his arrest Friday.Lawyer, through his attorney, entered not guilty pleas to a charge of second-degree murder and aggravated assault stemming from the attack on his parents. He also entered not guilty pleas to charges of eluding police and aggravated assault arising from a crash that led to him being taken into custody.  Prosecutors alleged Lawyer repeatedly struck both his 54-year-old father, Todd Lawyer, and his 58-year-old mother, Robin Lawyer, with a baseball bat Friday morning at their home in Enosburgh.Todd Lawyer was killed in the attack. The Vermont Chief Medical Examiner’s Officer determined his cause of death to be blunt force trauma to his head and ruled it a homicide.Robin Lawyer, who police said suffered significant injuries, had been hospitalized for treatment for her injuries and was reported to be in stable condition Friday. Her condition was not available Monday.  Jordan Lawyer had twice previously been found incompetent to stand trial on charges stemming from two previous alleged attacks on his parents, most recently in 2022.“This case is a wakeup call that we urgently need to reexamine our mental health system in Vermont and particularly in regard to those who are a threat to themselves and others,” Franklin County State’s Attorney Bram Kranichfeld said following Monday’s court proceeding. “What we need to reform and what we need to reexamine are cases where there’s an intersection between mental health and the criminal justice system,” Kranichfeld added. “In my personal opinion, the system, as it functions right now, is not working.”  During the hearing, Judge Alison Arms granted a request by Kranichfeld to hold Jordan Lawyer without bail pending a hearing to determine the strength of the evidence in the case against him. Paul Groce, an attorney representing Lawyer, did not contest the hold-without-bail order for his client. Arms also ordered a competency evaluation for Lawyer. The incident leading to the charges took place Friday morning when Robin Lawyer called police around 8:45 a.m. She reported to a 911 dispatcher that her son, whom she described as schizophrenic, was burning furniture and smashing windows at their residence, according to charging documents made public Monday. Moments later, the filing added, a neighbor of the Lawyers’ called police reporting that Todd Lawyer had been shot and Robin Lawyer was injured.Arriving officers found Todd Lawyer dead on the ground outside, about 25 yards from the front of his residence, the charging documents stated. Robin Lawyer, who had injuries to her left forearm and forehead, told an emergency medical worker at the scene that she and her husband had returned home earlier Friday morning and saw their son, Jordan Lawyer, burning furniture in the front yard, according to the filing. Later, at the Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans where she was taken for treatment for her injuries, she reported that after seeing their son burning furniture Todd Lawyer told him he had to leave and could no longer live at the residence, the charging documents stated.Todd Lawyer, who had picked up a bat to protect himself, Robin Lawyer told an investigator, was then struck by Jordan Lawyer, also wielding a bat. Robin Lawyer added that she tried to protect her husband, but Jordan Lawyer kept striking him as well as her during the attack, the charging documents stated. She said she was able to lock herself in the house and call police for help, the filing added. “She screamed for help, but no one came,” Robin Lawyer told the investigator, according to the charging documents. A neighbor reported that as Robin Lawyer was fleeing her home he had her come into his residence where she asked for his help. The neighbor also reported that Robin Lawyer had recalled her husband saying during the attack, “Son, stop, I love you,” the charging documents stated. Jordan Lawyer had left the home before police arrived, taking off in his parents’ black Jeep Grand Cherokee, according to the charging documents. He was taken into custody later Friday morning after the Jeep he was driving collided with a vehicle driven by a game warden in central Enosburgh, the filing stated. At the time he was taken into custody, the charging documents stated, he had a white baseball bat with blood on it.If convicted of the charges against him, Lawyer faces up to life in prison. Read the story on VTDigger here: Judge orders competency evaluation for man accused of killing father and injuring mother with bat .