POTOMAC, Md. — A man who confessed to murdering his grandmother has been declared mentally unfit to stand trial and will receive psychiatric care instead, according to authorities.
Spencer Dillon Hamilton, 27, was charged in the death of his 87-year-old grandmother, Pauline Yvonne Titus-Dillon. On March 30, Hamilton went to the Rockville City Police Station and told officers he had killed a family member. When police arrived at a home in the 12600 block of Tribunal Lane, they found Titus-Dillon unresponsive in the bathroom with visible injuries. Despite life-saving efforts, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Court documents reveal that Hamilton had hidden in his grandmother’s bedroom closet while she was in the bathroom early that morning. When she exited, he allegedly attacked her—stabbing her multiple times in the back and head, then strangling and punching her. After rendering her unconscious, Hamilton reportedly dragged her back to the bathroom, attempted to clean the crime scene, and fled with her credit cards, cellphone, and laptop.
An autopsy was scheduled with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore to determine the exact cause of death. When Hamilton was arrested, he was in possession of a weapon and the stolen items—police believe it was the same weapon used in the attack.
Although Hamilton was charged with first-degree murder, a court-ordered mental health evaluation determined he was incompetent to stand trial. He will now be treated in a psychiatric facility instead of proceeding through the criminal court system at this time.
