July 7:00 p.m.
Forsyth County judge ordered a Kernersville man accused of killing his wife to be sent to Central Regional Hospital for an evaluation of his capacity to stand trial.
Jason Daniel Hyde, 42, of Bethel Church Road in Kernersville, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Maiko Hyde, 38, on April 5, 2019.
A Forsyth County jury indicted Jason Hyde for first-degree murder on June 21. Assistant District Attorney Elisabeth Dresel had scheduled what is known as a Rule 24 hearing for Wednesday. At a Rule 24 hearing, prosecutors indicate their intent to seek the death penalty based on at least one out of 11 aggravating circumstances.
But Judge Michael Stone of Forsyth Superior Court continued that hearing until Jason Hyde can be evaluated at Central Regional Hospital.
Jason Crump, Hyde’s attorney, said he has represented Hyde for the past two years. Since Hyde has been held at the Forsyth County Jail, his understanding of his legal situation has deteriorated, Crump said.
“It is my belief that his ability to comprehend the situation he is in has diminished so that he can no longer understand the proceedings and is able to assist me in a reasonable manner,” Crump said in court.
When Crump approached Hyde about having an evaluation done, Hyde became defensive, Crump said. Forsyth District Court Judge George Cleland IV signed an order sending Hyde to Central Regional Hospital in January, but Crump said he was never sent because hospital staff would not accept Hyde.
Instead, Hyde was scheduled for an evaluation via video conferencing on March 4 at the Forsyth County Jail, where he is being held without bond. But Hyde refused to consent to the evaluation. Another evaluation was scheduled for March 24, but again, Hyde refused to participate, Crump said.
Hyde stood up during the hearing to explain his refusal, saying that he was misled about the evaluation. He said he believed the evaluation would be based on whether he was competent to stand trial in 2019. He refused to participate, he said, when he learned that the evaluation would be based on his competency on that day.
Hyde also filed a motion to have Crump removed as his attorney, alleging that Crump lied about the evaluation. Crump asked that any hearing on Hyde’s motion be held after a determination has been made on Hyde’s competency. Stone granted the request.
Forsyth County sheriff’s deputies went to the couple’s home on Bethel Church Road on April 5, 2019 on a reported assault. According to a search warrant, they found Jason Hyde’s grandfather, John Moyer Baker, applying pressure to a self-inflicted cut on Hyde’s throat.
Baker told the deputies that Maiko Hyde was dead inside a bedroom, and an investigator found a pocket knife and a chef’s knife inside the couple’s home, the search warrant said. Investigators also found a cell phone, an N.C. driver’s license and a U.S. identification card belonging to Maiko Hyde.
The couple was featured in a 2011 Winston-Salem Journal article written in the aftermath of an earthquake and tsunami in Maiko’s native Japan. Jason and Maiko met through the mail about 20 years ago. Maiko had been enrolled in an English course in Japan, and one of her assignments was to correspond with an English-speaking pen pal. Jason, who grew up in Belews Creek, was interested in Japanese culture. The two began writing letters.
