The man accused of murdering his parents will undergo a competency examination.

A Tuesday, March 2 preliminary examination was held in the Kalamazoo County 8th District Court in the case involving a Portage Michigan couple allegedly murdered by their son Nicholas Alexander Johnson.

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Judge Anne Blatchford heard from Nicholas's attorney who requested his client undergo a competency evaluation. The Office of the Kalamazoo County Prosecuting Attorney had no objections to the request, according to a release from the Prosecutor's Office.

Judge Blatchford granted the defense's request and ordered Nicholas to undergo a
competency examination conducted by the Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry.
Once an evaluation report is received, a court hearing will take place within two days. A  status review of the case is scheduled for May 11, 2021, at 8:30 am.

A competency evaluation determines whether a criminal defendant has the capacity to understand the nature and object of the proceedings against him and assist in his own defense. A competency evaluation does not consider or evaluate a criminal defendant’s
mental state at the time of an alleged time.

The Backstory

Gary and Laura Johnson were initially reported missing after Gary had not remotely signed into work for several days. His boss contacted the Portage Department of Public Safety to perform a wellness check. When officers arrived at the home, they were unable to make contact. After walking around the home and property they felt there was reason to be fearful for the couple's wellbeing.

Portage Public Safety officers remained at the couple's Portage home for days gathering evidence they say pointed to signs of violence within the home. Days later police located the couple's bodies and their son Nicholas Alexander Johnson was charged with their murder.

Nicholas Johnson has also been publicly named a person of interest in the disappearance of a Goble's teen last seen in Portage walking with Johnson in 2018. Law enforcement had searched for missing 17-year-old Bonifacio 'Facio' Pena at the Gourdneck State Game Area, the same location where Gary and Laura Johnson's bodies were discovered.