CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Billy Ferguson, the man accused of stabbing and killing 17-year-old Gabe Cooley in the middle of a Calallen Walmart in 2020, appeared in court Thursday to revisit the topic of his mental competency at the time of the stabbing.
It was in August of 2020 when police said Ferguson stabbed Cooley, a Calallen High School football player, in the middle of their local Walmart. Witnesses said Cooley was standing in an aisle when Ferguson approached him and stabbed him multiple times.
Cooley was rushed to an area hospital where he later died from his injuries. Ferguson was charged with murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Ferguson appeared Thursday in Judge Nanette Hasette's 28th District Court. According to Nueces County First Assistant District Attorney Angelica Hernandez, the findings of an independent psychologist were presented and accepted. That psychologist found that Ferguson was mentally competent at the time of the stabbing.
Judge Hasette appointed a second psychologist to verify those findings and they will then present those results at a hearing on April 26.
Cooley's family members were present during Thursday's hearing.
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