BUCKHEAD, GA — The wheels of justice are moving slowly in the case of a homeless man indicted for the stabbing murder of a 77-year-old Atlanta woman.

More than a year after a Fulton County court signed off on a mental health evaluation for Antonio Brown to be conducted by Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD), it is still not done.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kevin Farmer discussed holding the state agency in contempt for the delay. He signed an order to speed up the process.

Lawyer Lynne Borsuk represents the family of the victim, Eleanor Bowles. Borsuk says she’s heard the state has a 700 person backlog for mental competency exams.

A new court date is expected within 60 days.

Farmer says if the exam is not done by that time, the DBHDD will have to explain why.

Judge Farmer also directed lawyers to get any more motions filed within the next 10 days.

Brown, known as a homeless person in the area, is pleading not guilty to his 12-count indictment, including charges of felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, armed robbery, and abuse of an elder person.

Eleanor Bowles, a grandmother and mother of two, was found dead in the detached garage of her home in a gated Buckhead community in December 2022 on Paces West Terrace.

Police said at the time that they believe Bowles was home when Brown arrived and tried to steal her 2021 Lexus RS350, then was fatally stabbed when she interrupted the theft.