Ava man accused of killing wife, child to undergo mental evaluation

Ava man accused of killing wife, child to undergo mental evaluation

By Dirk VanderHart
dvanderhart@news-leader.com

Proceedings in the case of an Ava man accused of stabbing his pregnant wife and infant son to death are on hold while mental health professionals evaluate Dan A. Andrews.

Andrews, 31, was scheduled to go before a Douglas County judge for a preliminary hearing this morning on charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action, but the matter was cancelled. 

That’s because Andrews’ public defender, Linda McKinney, filed a request last week for the man to be evaluated through the Missouri Department of Mental Health. 

“I advised the court through a written notice that I do not believe my client is competent to proceed,” McKinney said. 

Andrews will be transferred into Department of Mental Health custody, possibly at the state’s facility in Fulton, McKinney said. The state has 60 days from the time of a judge’s order to file a report on Andrews’ competency.

A case review is set for July 7. 

That Andrews will be firmly in the custody of mental health professionals after allegedly taking two lives is perhaps ironic.

In the hours and days after Douglas County authorities discovered Mary Lee Burchell, 24, and 9-month-old Tayler Allen Andrews stabbed to death, family members of the alleged killer complained they’d tried to get Dan Andrews help, but that officials wouldn’t hold him.

They said Dan Andrews, who had been unable to hold down a job for at least five years, was mentally ill.

In late February, fearing that the man was a threat to others — including his wife and son — the family checked him into a West Plains facility for a mental health evaluation.

The facility, however, released Dan Andrews four days later despite the family's pleas he needed help.

In the early hours of March 16, Douglas County authorities responded to Dan Andrews’ home just west of Ava to find a grisly scene.

They believe Dan Andrews used a three-foot sword and pocket knife to kill his pregnant wife and son.

When Douglas County Sheriff Chris Degase arrived at the house, Dan Andrews was standing in the driveway. He reportedly attempted to flee, but the sheriff caught him a short distance from the home.

Degase said he noticed blood on Dan Andrews' hands when he placed him in handcuffs. His right hand was wrapped and bleeding, he added.

When Degase asked Dan Andrews' what he would find in the house, the man allegedly replied: "I killed her. And I killed my son, too."

If, as McKinney suspects, Dan Andrews in determined incompetent to face the charges against him, it’s too early to say what will become of the man, she said.

Given the seriousness of the charges, it’s possible he would be given over to the Department of Mental Health.