Trial Finally Set After Deadly 2021 Pork Plant Stabbing

Back in February 2021, an investigation began on a stabbing case at a pork packaging plant.

According to KWWL, on February 16^th, 2021 at around 6 am, Wright County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a stabbing report at Prestage Foods. Upon arriving at the scene, one person was found dead in the employee locker room.

Later reports identified 50-year-old Wayne Smith as the victim of the deadly stabbing. 26-year-old Lukouxs Brown was identified as the suspect in the incident and was charged with first-degree murder.

Get our free mobile app

However, when it came to the trial, KCRG reported in April 2021 that a judge ruled Brown “too mentally unfit to stand trial.” The judge found that Brown suffered from a mental disorder that prevented him from understanding the charges brought against him.  Brown was ordered by the judge to be turned over to the Iowa Department of Corrections’ Medical and Classification Center.

On January 31^st, a treating psychiatrist reported that Brown was not competent to stand trial and is now a candidate for continued restoration saying “there is no substantial probability that the defendant’s competency will be restored in a reasonable amount of time.” However, this was met with the court granting a second opinion and keeping the trial suspended.

Now, after 18 months of rehabilitation, Brown was deemed competent enough to stand trial. The ruling came in June as a court found that the treatment he had received restored his competency.

The new trial date has been set for  August 9th  in the Wright County District Court. Brown has pleaded not guilty to the murder charges.