Trial dates are tentatively set for the February 2025 murder of two Winlock residents, according to recent documents filed in Lewis County Superior Court.
Robert Eugene Chandler Jr., 36, is accused of murdering Kimberly R. Torres, 51, and Donald J. Piccolo, 61, with a pair of swords at their residence.
The Lewis County man was charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated murder on March 10, 2025. He faces up to life in prison without parole or release, if convicted.
Chandler pleaded not guilty to each count by reason of insanity in July 2025. He remains in custody on a no-bail hold.
As it stands, the trial for the State of Washington v. Robert E. Chandler Jr. will begin the week of Nov. 2. A trial-confirmation hearing is scheduled for Oct. 29.
Previous trial-setting hearings had been scheduled for July and December of last year and January of this year, but were continued each time.
On Feb. 12, the parties agreed to set trial for November. The dates may change.
During the July 2025 hearing, defense attorney Don Blair waived Chandler’s right to a speedy trial, which would have guaranteed a trial within 60 days from the initial arraignment.
According to the waiver, the “last allowable date for trial” is March 2, 2027.
On Sept. 17, 2025, Blair requested an order authorizing expert services at the public’s expense to “determine the defendant's ability to comprehend the events surrounding the crimes charged, and his sanity at the time of the offenses, and the proceedings pending against him.”
According to court documents, the amount for such services, to be paid by Lewis County, was not to exceed $7,200. Chandler was declared indigent and thus unable to pay.
A court review of that mental examination is scheduled for March 12, according to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office.
The Chronicle previously reported that a Lewis County Superior Court judge ordered a competency evaluation on March 14, 2025, to determine Chandler’s capacity to both understand the case against him and assist in his defense.
The evaluation, filed in court on March 31, 2025, found that Chandler lacked that capacity.
The psychologist who conducted the evaluation diagnosed Chandler with unspecified schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorder; methamphetamine use disorder; and inhalant use disorder, in accordance with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR).
According to the report, the psychologist recommended competency restoration treatment to include psychotropic medication, which had reportedly been used to successfully restore Chandler’s competence within a 45-day restoration period during a different case in 2022.
After noting that Chandler might be unwilling to accept treatment, the psychologist indicated restoration “would be improved, and the length of time to restoration would be reduced,” if the court granted an authorization for involuntary treatment.
The court granted such an order on April 24, 2025, about 20 days after Chandler began his restoration period at Western State Hospital, according to court documents.
Prior to that authorization, Chandler had reportedly declined medication at the hospital.
The order stated that involuntary medication would “significantly further the prosecution's governmental interests in this case,” and was “substantially likely to render the defendant competent.”
Furthermore, the medication was “unlikely to have side effects that interfere significantly with the defendant's ability to assist counsel in conducting a trial defense.”
The order indicated that medication was both “necessary” and “medically appropriate,” and “in the defendant’s best interest” considering his condition.
Following the restoration period, a forensic evaluator determined that Chandler had “the capacity to understand the nature of proceedings against him and assist in his defense.”
The report, dated July 7, 2025, stated that Chandler had experienced “notable recent symptom reduction” related to his schizophrenia diagnosis.
During a review hearing and arraignment on July 17, 2025, Judge J. Andrew Toynbee ordered that Chandler was competent to stand trial.
Days later, Chandler entered a written plea of not guilty to each count by reason of insanity.
The Chronicle previously reported that Winlock Police Chief Stephen Valentine found the bodies of Torres and Piccolo during a citizen-requested welfare check on Feb. 25, 2025.
According to the probable cause affidavit filed by the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office, both bodies were “severely decomposed” at the time of their discovery.
Torres’ head had been “severed from her body,” and Piccolo “had severed limbs.”
According to the affidavit, Chandler was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail on March 5, 2025, “for a DOC (Department of Corrections) violation.”
He was charged with murder five days later.
To read previous Chronicle coverage of the investigation that led to Chandler’s arrest, visit https://tinyurl.com/3wxeb3r9.
