Kay Stevens was killed outside her bakery by ex-husband Roger Stevens, right, with a court now set to rule on whether he is mentally fit to stand trial

A husband who killed his wife by bashing her head off a curb after their divorce is set to hear whether will stand trial.

Roger Dale Stevens, 67, claims he was insane when he shot and bludgeoned Kay Letson Stevens to death outside the Corner Bakery in Decatur, Alabama, in November 2015.

Judge Jennifer Howell will rule on February whether or not Stevens is fit to stand trial, with any subsequent trial set to kick off in April.

Stevens has been charged with capital murder, although prosecutors have indicated they will not seek the death penalty if he is convicted.


He was originally accused of shooting Kay dead after pulling up outside the bakery and brandishing a handgun.

Kay was shot and battered to death against a curb stone outside the bakery she owned with her sister in Decatur, Alabama, pictured (Picture: Google Maps)

But a subsequent indictment claimed that she’d also been killed by blunt force trauma after Stevens repeatedly bashed her head off the curb outside her business.



A horrified witness shared details of the curb incident to police afterwards, according to Decatur Daily.

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Kay’s sister and business partner Brenda Suggs asked Stevens what he was doing when he appeared with the gun.

He replied that his estranged wife had ‘gotten everything in the divorce,’ then added: ‘I’m gonna kill her.’

Two hours before her murder, Kay had texted a friend warning that Stevens had ‘said he was going to kill me.’

She added: ‘Roger called last night.

‘He described me with his unflattering adjectives.’

Stevens will face a murder trial if the completed mental health evaluation indicates that he was not suffering from a mental disease or defect at the time of the offense.

He must also be ‘able to understand the nature and object of the proceedings against him,’ and be able to assist his defense attorney ‘in a reasonable manner.’

Judge Howell has said that even if Stevens is declared unfit for trial, she wants him to be given whatever treatment is necessary to try and ensure he can stand trial at a later date.