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Award Kabayiza

(Syracuse Police Department)

Syracuse, NY -- A Congolese refugee accused of killing a 64-year-old fellow refugee will undergo a mental health exam to determine if he's competent to go to trial, his lawyer said today.

Award Kabayiza, 24, was a refugee who fled the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo to be resettled in Syracuse within a small Congolese community, said defense lawyer Ralph Cognetti.

Kabayiza is accused of beating to death a fellow refugee, Jesca Nyirakubanza, 64. The two were members of the same social circle, but were not related.

Nyirakubanza was beaten to death by Kabayiza after being left alone with him a short time in her North Side apartment in November, authorities said. She died from serious head injuries.

Authorities have not yet said what led to the attack. But Cognetti suggested that Kabayiza's mental condition had been affected by years of violence in his homeland.

Kabayiza witnessed murders on a daily basis during a countrywide war that officially ended in the 2000s, Cognetti said. The Congo wars are considered to be the deadliest since World War II, leaving millions dead over several decades, according to media accounts.

"It was as barbaric as you can imagine," Cognetti said.

Growing up in that environment may have led Kabayiza to turn to violence, Congnetti suggested. He did not have further information since the case is still in its early stages.

It's not clear if Kabayiza has underlying mental illnesses that were exacerbated by war. That's what a mental health exam will seek to find out.

None of this, if demonstrated, gets Kabayiza off the hook on the murder charge.

If found incompetent, he could be sent to a secure mental hospital and medicated until he's stable enough for trial. That's what happened recently to another Syracuse native who is accused of killing his mother.

If he's competent to stand trial, Kabayiza could explore a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, commonly known as the insanity plea.

That would also send him to a secure mental hospital indefinitely.

Right now, Kabayiza has been indicted on a murder charge and is presumed innocent. If convicted after trial, he faces up to 25 years to life in state prison. His refugee status would likely be revoked if he's convicted. He would be deported after serving his sentence.

Cognetti said he will officially ask for a mental health exam at Kabayiza's arraignment, likely to happen next week.

He did not have information about when Kabayiza was accepted into the United States as a refugee, but confirmed that he was here legally.