A Smith County man is undergoing treatment at a state mental health facility until he is deemed competent to stand trial for the asphyxiation death of his father in their Smith County home in August.

Randall Britton, 28, is charged with murder and a second-degree felony of tampering/fabricating with physical evidence with intent to impair human corpse.

Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham answered questions Wednesday surrounding the case after family members reported 56-year-old R.L. Britton may have died of a heart attack.

The elder Britton was found dead in his home in the Jackson Heights community in August and his son was taken into custody immediately and charged with the death.

“He had injuries to his face, his body was bleeding and it was very clear the body had been dragged backward and propped in an awkward position. He did not die of a heart attack,” Bingham said.

Bingham said the problems began when the autopsy, done by Southeast Texas Forensics in Tyler, came back undetermined on cause and manner of death.

Bingham said his office forwarded all of the records and crime scene photos to Dr. Stephen Bolesta, professor of pathology at the University of St. Louis, to go over the findings.

“He found that the victim died of asphyxia with the compression of the neck,” he said.

Bingham said Bolesta worked in Tyler in the past and once did all of the area’s autopsies, even going to crime scenes to see firsthand the conditions bodies were found.

Bingham did not know when the case might move forward, but said he intends to see the case progress through the system and hopes to see a conviction.

He does acknowledge Britton has mental health issues, but said he has been informed the younger man will be able to stand trial in the future.

“This certainly was a homicide and we will try it as such. We filed the tampering with a corpse charge because the body had clearly been moved after death and we wanted Britton to remain in the custody of a state hospital until which time he can regain competency to stand trial,” he said.