The man accused of killing an 18-year-old St. Paul woman last winter and stuffing her body inside a car is competent to stand trial.
Anoka County District Court Judge Daniel O’Fallon issued the ruling regarding Alberto Palmer’s mental state at a hearing Friday morning.
The 24-year-old is charged with first-degree premeditated murder in the February slaying of Brittany Clardy, who investigators say was working as a prostitute when she died.
Palmer also is suspected of killing 24-year-old Klaressa Cook, a Georgia native who moved to the Twin Cities shortly before her body was found May 20 in a vehicle in a Minneapolis tow lot. Her mother said Cook worked as a prostitute to travel and save money.
The Hennepin County attorney’s office is still reviewing charges in that case, said spokesman Chuck Laszewski, who added there is less urgency to move quickly because Palmer is already in jail.
“It’s miserable,” Marquita Clardy, Brittany Clardy’s mother, said of seeing Palmer in person. “I just want all of this to be over.”
Palmer reportedly had relocated to the Twin Cities to escape allegations that he violently attacked three prostitutes in Chamblee, Ga.
He allegedly sought out Clardy on Backpage.com, a site known for human trafficking.
The Chicago native is suspected of killing Clardy with a hammer after the two had sex in his brother’s Brooklyn Park home and then concealing her body in a car, which he allegedly left outside a nearby apartment complex.
Palmer is due back in court Nov. 13 for a contested omnibus hearing regarding statements he made to police after his March arrest. He has yet to enter a plea in the case.
Clardy’s parents cried after the hearing as they talked about their grief.
Marquita Clardy wore a purple rubber bracelet that read “Awareness Against Violence, Brittany Clardy.”
She says she now regularly attends support groups.
“You take it day by day,” she said. “Some days are better than others.”
Sarah Horner can be reached at 651-228-5539. Follow her at twitter.com/hornsarah.
