Sacramento man deemed mentally competent to stand trial accused of killing 1-year-old girl
A man accused of beating and torturing a 1-year-old girl three years ago in a West Sacramento motel has been deemed mentally competent to stand trial in Yolo County charged with murder and child abuse.
Derrick Dimone Woods, 46, of Sacramento is accused of killing Amanda Marie Owens. The little girl’s family has said she was found dead with severe bruising inside a room at Silvey’s Motel along West Capitol Avenue after her mother left her two children with Woods, the man she had been dating at the time.
Woods has been in custody since he was arrested in February 2021 following a a 24-hour “regionwide manhunt.” The Yolo County District Attorney’s Office then charged Woods with murder, assault resulting in the death of a child younger than 8 years old and child abuse. The murder charge includes an enhancement for inflicting torture.
Prosecutors said Woods physically abused his then girlfriend’s two children at the West Sacramento motel, killing the 1-year-old girl. Her three-year-old brother was treated for his injuries at a hospital.
The children’s mother, Marquisha Brown, lost custody of her son for 10 months following her daughter’s death. But she has since been reunited with her son, and last year they were among participants in a Yolo County program designed to help homeless families get back on track after falling on tough times.
Woods’ murder case had been stalled for the past two years in Yolo Superior Court. Prosecutors said Woods’ defense attorney in May 2022 told the court he did not believe his client was mentally competent to stand trial.
The judge suspended the criminal case and ordered doctors to evaluate Woods’ mentally competency. Prosecutors said Woods in fall 2023 was sent to Porterville Developmental Center, a state hospital.
In January, Woods was returned to the Yolo County Jail after doctors at the state hospital determined Woods’ mental competency had been restored. But Woods’ defense attorney challenged that medical finding. Prosecutors said a three-week court trial was held to determine whether Wood’s mental competency had been restored.
On Thursday, Judge Samuel McAdam ruled that Woods was mentally competent to stand trial and reinstated the murder case, the District Attorney’s Office announced Friday in a news release.
Prosecutors said the judge then scheduled Woods’ murder trial to begin Feb. 24. Woods on Friday remained in custody at the jail, where he’s being held without bail.
