Cold case slaying defendant incompetent for trial in MN

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A judge has determined a defendant from South Dakota accused in a 1974 slaying in Minnesota isn’t competent to stand trial.

Algene Vossen was arrested decades after the death of Mable Herman of Willmar, Minnesota, who was found stabbed at her home. But it was only after advances in DNA testing and another look at the case that Vossen was arrested in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he had been living at the time.

An attorney for the 80-year-old defendant asked a judge to find Vossen incompetent to stand trial due to his physical and mental status. A judge in Kandiyohi County granted that request Friday.