Competency evaluation underway in attempted murder case

A Gales Ferry man accused of stabbing his wife at their Gales Ferry home last month is being evaluated to determine whether he is competent to stand trial.

Jeffrey A. Asbill, 49, is charged with attempted murder and first-degree assault for allegedly stabbing his wife at their Brewster Drive home on Nov. 16.

The wife, Cuijuan "Joanne" Cai, said Asbill had been hospitalized at Yale-New Haven Hospital for depression and was distraught because he had lost his job at Pfizer Inc. and could not provide for his family. Police said she suffered a stab wound in the upper left area of her chest, a punctured lung and lacerations to her left hand. She was treated at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital. Cai has since told friends that Asbill was attempting to commit suicide when she was injured and that he needs to be in a hospital, not a prison.

Asbill is being held at Garner Correctional Institution, a facility that offers services to those with mental illnesses, and is undergoing the competency evaluation. A state forensic team will determine whether Asbill is competent to stand trial, and he will return to court on Dec. 23. Meanwhile, Asbill is prohibited from having contact with his wife.

Cai, who was assisted in court by an interpreter of Mandarin Chinese, has been unable to visit her husband since the incident and requested a visit through Asbill’s attorney, Kevin C. Barrs. The judge denied the request and reminded the wife that the charges against Asbill are "very serious."

"This is an attempted murder case," said Judge Susan B. Handy. "As in any case like this, there will be no contact between the defendant and the victim."

Handy said she could revisit the request when she gets a better handle on the case.

Asbill had worked for Pfizer Inc. as a biochemist, first in Ann Arbor, Mich., and then in Groton, according to his former colleagues. He was laid off from the Groton facility in December 2008, 18 months after he and his family relocated to Connecticut.