FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) – A judge has ruled that a man charged with first-degree murder in the beating death of a central Iowa pastor is mentally unfit to stand trial. The Fort Dodge Messenger reports that a Webster County District judge on Friday found 36-year-old Josh Pendleton incompetent to stand trial and ordered him to undergo a mental health evaluation and treatment at the Iowa Medical Classification Correctional Facility in Oakdale.

Pendleton’s attorney says he has a long history of mental illness and was unable to assist in his own defense. Pendleton is accused of robbing and beating to death the Rev. Al Henderson, who was found unresponsive on Oct. 2 outside St. Paul Lutheran Church in Fort Dodge.