Mental evaluation ordered for man accused of beating, setting fire to wife
by Russell Ben-Ali/The Star-Ledger
Tuesday July 08, 2008, 6:55 PM
A Bergen County man accused of beating his ex-wife and setting her on fire will undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether he is fit to stand trial in her death, a Superior Court Judge ordered today.

Ovidio Palacios Rojas, 52, a restaurant dishwasher, is accused of murder and aggravated arson for allegedly beating Maria Rivas in his Waldwick home on June 10, then setting her ablaze. It was unclear today whether Rivas died in the fire or from the beating, authorities said.


Two of his sons managed to enter the smoldering house but flames prevented them from approaching their mother, authorities said. They grabbed Palacios Rojas outside the house and held him until police arrived.

The motive for the slaying is unclear, but the couple had a history of domestic problems, authorities said.

Since his arrest, the El Salvador native has been held in Bergen Regional Medical Center and, recently, the Bergen County Jail. Today, Judge Harry G. Carroll continued his $2 million bail.

Palacios Rojas appeared confused and non-responsive in the courtroom. He spent much of the time staring ahead or at several of his sons who sat in the audience. Judge Carroll explained the two charges and advised the defendant of his rights. But when the judge asked him whether he understood what was just said, the defendant appeared confused.

"A little," he mumbled in Spanish through a court-assigned interpreter. Asked by the judge whether he had any questions for his attorney, Palacios Rojas simply stared ahead.

His attorney, public defender Robert M. Kalisch, asked that his client undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine his competency to stand trial. Carroll granted the request. Kalisch also entered a not-guilty plea on his client's behalf.

On the issue of bail, Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Catherine Fantuzzi told the court that Palacios Rojas was deported from the United States in June 2007 and there is no record of his re-entry.

Both sides acknowledged that an immigration detainer has been issued for Palacios Rojas. It essentially notifies authorities that an inmate is not to be released, even on bail, without being turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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