Kelli Lepler, (Hall County Department of Corrections, Courtesy)
GRAND ISLAND – Even though the Lincoln Regional Center staff said that Kelli Lepler of Grand Island is competent to stand trial, Hall County District Judge Andrew Butler ruled March 17 that Lepler remains incompetent to stand trial.
Lepler was at the Hall County Corrections Department at the time of the March 17 hearing. She has been at the Lincoln Regional Center for an extended period of time, and Butler ordered that she be returned to the Lincoln Regional Center.
Lepler is the former owner of a cemetery headstone business.
She is accused of receiving $258,404 from 43 customers. The headstones were never installed through her business, Monument Advisors.
She is charged in Hall County District Court with 46 counts of theft by deception, of which 38 charges are felonies and eight charges are misdemeanors. The purchases were made between Jan. 8, 2020, and Feb. 9, 2023.
At the March 17 hearing, Butler ordered than an updated evaluation of Lepler be conducted by Lincoln Regional Center staff. He also ordered the state to determine what measures need to be taken to make sure Lepler takes prescribed medication if she is released from the Lincoln Regional Center. Lepler had previously refused to take medication, and the judge ordered that Lincoln Regional Staff give her the medication.
Lepler’s next court appearance will be at 8:30 a.m. May 1.
