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Murder suspect to be evaluated for fitness

The arraignment of an Arlington Heights man scheduled for Wednesday was postponed after his defense attorneys expressed concern about the man’s mental fitness.

A Cook County grand jury indicted Steven M. Cole, 41, on charges of first-degree murder in the June 2009 slaying of his father, Stuart Cole, 69, in the family’s Arlington Heights home.

“We have a serious question in our minds as to whether he is fit to stand trial based on a psychological evaluation we had done,” said Scott Slonim, Cook County assistant public defender and supervisor of the office in Rolling Meadows.

Cole, who prosecutors say has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, made tearful, rambling statements during his June bond hearing, saying he had been mentally and physically abused for several years. Family members denied those claims, prosecutors said.

After Steven Cole called 911, saying he had killed his father, police found Stuart Cole with stab wounds to his chest, cuts to his face and head, and defensive wounds to his hands and wrists. He appeared to have been stabbed as he lay on a family room couch, prosecutors said. Prosecutors say Steven Cole called other family members, including his mother, Barbara Cole — who prosecutors say suffers from stage 4 lung cancer and resides in a nursing home — claiming he had killed his father. At a hearing in June, a judge granted prosecutors’ request to videotape Barbara Cole’s deposition after her oncologist testified that she had a 50-50 chance of surviving the next few months. Prosecutors confirmed the video deposition has been completed.

Steven Cole next appears in court on Sept. 29. The report on the results of his psychological evaluation are due at that time.