(UPDATE, 5 pm) Brown has been found unfit to proceed to trial at this time. According to a joint motion filed by the state and defense, along with a report from a psychologist, the court determined that Brown "lacks fitness to proceed." His January trial date has been suspended while he undergoes further mental health evaluations.
Meagan Thompson reports - watch the video here:
The new court documents indicate Brown will be placed in a mental health facility and committed to the custody of the director of the Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services.
The court order states that Brown will be examined by a qualified psychiatrist or licensed clinical psychologist for 90 days. A status hearing is scheduled for March.
(1st REPORT, 1:52 p.m.) Michael Brown, accused of shooting and killing four people in an Anaconda bar in August 2025, will be placed in the custody of the Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services, and judicial proceedings are suspended after he was found to lack mental "fitness to proceed" on Tuesday.
Brown, an Army veteran from the Smelter City, was ordered to be placed in an appropriate mental health facility "for as long as the unfitness endures."
District Court Judge Jeffrey Dahood also ordered that Brown must undergo a mental health examination with a written report of the examination within 90 days.
According to court documents, the evaluator's report must include a description of the examination and a diagnosis of Brown's mental condition, including an option as to whether Brown suffers from a mental disorder and may require commitment or is seriously developmentally disabled.
Evaluators will determine if Brown suffers from a mental disease or disorder and has the capacity to understand the proceedings against him.
Brown's next court appearance is set for March 18, 2026.
Brown has been charged with four counts of deliberate homicide in the shooting deaths of David Leach, 70, Daniel Baillie, 59, Tony Palm, 74, and Nancy Kelley, 64, on the morning of August 1, 2025, at the Owl Bar in Anaconda.
According to charging documents, he then fled the scene in a stolen pickup truck, leading law enforcement on a week-long manhunt in the mountainous, wooded area west of town. Brown was arrested on Friday, August 8, just west of Anaconda.
Shortly after his arrest, Clare Boyle, the niece of Brown, said that she and her family were heartbroken over the situation and the four lives that were lost.
Boyle said, “My heart breaks for this town. There is no amount of apology or words that could ever describe how sorry I am and how I feel for these families, my own included.”
She said that Brown suffered from significant mental health challenges, including schizophrenia and PTSD, from serving in the Army.
