A St. Joseph man accused of beating his grandmother to death with her own hammer and then stealing her vehicle is due in court next month. A judge on Monday approved a delay in the case of Michael Courter, who is undergoing a mental-health examination.

Criminal proceedings were suspended and Courter was committed to the Missouri Dept. of Mental Health on Oct. 31, 2016. Bail was set at $25,000 cash as officials awaited his commitment report. That report is expected soon, and in a brief hearing Monday, Circuit Judge Patrick Robb scheduled a trial-setting June 2.

As we reported, Courter is charged with second-degree murder and vehicle tampering for the death of his grandmother Clyda Spurgeon. The woman was found dead at her home at 108 E. Highland Ave on April 29, 2016. In court documents officials said that sometime between 8 p.m. April 28 and 8 a.m. April 29 Courter allegedly hit Spurgeon repeatedly with a hammer he borrowed from her.

Courter, 41, was arrested in the stolen vehicle in Hobart, Indiana about 12.5 hours after the incident, according to court documents. At that time, the murder had not yet been discovered. So the defendant was issued a summons and released.

The murder warrant was served on May 16, 2016, according to online court records.

A probable cause affidavit says “the defendant is a violent and brutal man who without cause or provocation violently killed the victim.”

“He previously assaulted his mother and received a felony conviction,” according to the affidavit. “Witnesses interviewed are afraid of the defendant.”