Judge rules Blaney competent to stand trial

Timothy David Blaney is charged with first-degree murder for the death of Skyler Huffield.

Blaney was scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Tuesday. The state requested a continuance so it would have more time to gather and prepare its witnesses for the hearing.

The judge continued the hearing until next week.

Blaney’s previous hearings were postponed pending a competency evaluation. On Tuesday, the judge looked at those results and ruled Blaney is competent to stand trial.

Blaney was arrested and charged in May for beating Huffield to death with a two-by-four. According to police reports, Blaney entered a home on Hawthorne Road while Huffield and his girlfriend, Diana Shaeffer, were sleeping. That’s when Blaney beat Huffield to death. Shaeffer is Blaney’s ex-wife.

Blaney is being held in the Bannock County Jail on a $1 million bond.