STANLEY, N.D. – A judge ordered a mental evaluation Thursday for a Powers Lake man accused of killing his brother and leaving the body in a camper for more than five months.

The defense attorney for Aaron Ray Larson, 40, requested a mental evaluation for Larson, who recently had been in an alcohol-induced coma and has difficulty with communication and comprehension.

"I'm concerned about the ability to communicate and participate in his own defense," said attorney Robert Martin.

North Central Judicial District Judge Richard Hagar ordered that Larson receive a mental evaluation at the State Hospital in Jamestown.

Martin also filed a motion that says Larson intends to assert a defense that he lacked criminal responsibility by reason of mental disease or defect at the time of the alleged offense.

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Larson was arrested Sept. 10 and charged with murder, a Class A felony, after the Mountrail County Sheriff's Office discovered the body of Larson's brother, Terry Larson, in a camper.

In an interview with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Larson said he and his brother got into a fight inside the camper that led to Terry Larson getting shot, according to court records.

Aaron Larson also told authorities that Terry Larson wanted his brother to shoot him because Terry had learned he had a disease, court documents say.

Aaron Larson told authorities he covered the body up with a blanket and placed a lock on the camper a week later. Authorities were asked to do a welfare check on Terry Larson and discovered his body Sept. 7 in the camper, wrapped in the blanket under a pile of garbage, records say. Authorities say the man had been dead for more than five months when his body was discovered.

The brothers had been living on the Powers Lake property, where they worked as ranch hands, court records say.