ORLANDO, Fla. – The man facing charges in the death of his 9-year-old niece has been ruled incompetent by a judge, according to records.
Court records show Bertholet Fify, who’s facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of his niece, Tayanam Jean-Paul, appeared in court for a competency hearing Thursday.
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Jean-Paul was covered in bleach when she was found lying on her family’s couch at an apartment complex on Millennia Boulevard, according to Orlando police.
Fify was arrested in June in connection with the girl’s death. An arrest affidavit noted that he smelled of bleach, records show.
A toxicology report indicates that Jean-Paul had bleach in her blood but her cause of death was strangulation. The child also suffered chemical burns on her eyes, eyelids, neck, upper chest, shoulders, upper right arm and upper back, records show.
Records don’t indicate how the Shingle Creek Elementary School student was strangled.
A second competency for Fify hearing has been scheduled for July 23, records show.