In a 2nd District Court hearing on Thursday, attorneys discussed the findings by a state psychiatrist and Judge Joseph Bean ruled the case can proceed against Christian Taele, 28, of Lake Shore.

According to charging documents, Taele on July 8 allegedly beat and stabbed Ryan Hooley in Spanish Fork and left him for dead by a trash bin. The next evening, he was in Ogden, where he allegedly strangled, kicked and hanged Tyler Belinti from gym equipment.

Taele told police he did not know either man. An Ogden Police Department probable cause statement said Taele told the officers that “a higher power” had commanded him to “purge” the community.

Taele’s attorneys asked for the psychiatric review after they reported that Taele told them he would hear noises, such as a fire alarm, “that seemed to lead him throughout the day,” and that the behavior began days before the slayings.

In the Ogden case, Taele is charged with first-degree aggravated murder. Bean set a Nov. 3 hearing for a decision on whether Taele will ask for a preliminary hearing, the last major step before pretrial proceedings.

The Utah County Attorney’s Office charged Taele with first-degree murder in Hooley’s death. A competency review in that case is scheduled for Oct. 19 in 4th District Court.

Taele has been held without bail in the Weber County Jail since his arrest.