CARROLL COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) – The Carroll County man, who was accused of killing his six-year-old brother, was declared incompetent to stand trial.

On Monday, July 10, 2023, a competency hearing for 20-year-old Thomas Perry III, of Vaiden, was held in Circuit Court. Perry has been jailed on charges of homicide, arson and cruelty to animals since the July 2022 death of his six-year-old brother, Orlando Pittman.

Though testimony was offered by a Carroll County Sheriff’s Office investigator and others, ultimately the 50-page mental competency evaluation was enough for the judge to declare Perry incompetent to stand trial and therefore committed to a mental institution until such time if and when his sanity is restored.

During the 2022 incident, Carroll County deputies responded to Vaiden Rentals Apartments on Court Street for a fire. Authorities determined the fire had been intentionally set.

Deputies said Perry was later seen walking east on Vaiden Kilmichael Road when a firefighter and a deputy were responded to the apartment fire. He was arrested the following day.

During a search of the apartment, crews found Pittman’s body in a closet. Authorities said he had been killed before the fire started.

A preliminary investigation showed his manner of death to be homicide caused by multiple stab wounds.