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Suspect in Murder of Brooklyn Grandma and Cat Sent to Psych Ward: Sources

 Joyce Spears, 70, was found dead near piles of trash outside 1635 Union St., near Troy Avenue, on March 24, police and witnesses said.
Joyce Spears, 70, was found dead near piles of trash outside 1635 Union St., near Troy Avenue, on March 24, police and witnesses said.
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DNAinfo/Rachel Holliday Smith

CROWN HEIGHTS — A Brooklyn man arrested for killing his grandmother and her cat — then leaving both wrapped in a bloody sheet outside the woman's building — has been hospitalized indefinitely for psychiatric treatment, sources said.

Barry James, 32, is receiving medical treatment at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, where he was taken shortly after his arrest last week, sources said.

James has not yet been arraigned in court on a second degree murder charge for killing his grandmother, 70-year-old Joyce Spears, who was found dead on March 24 with the body of her pet cat near piles of trash outside her Union Street apartment building, police sources said.

As of Wednesday, James was not mentally fit for arraignment, either at the hospital or in a courtroom. Medical staff will make a determination about whether or not he is ready to face charges, sources added.

Before his March 24 arrest, James also faced charges for fare-beating at Jay Street on February 28, court documents show, and assault, harassment and menacing for a March 10 assault on Schenectady Avenue near Bergen Street in Crown Heights. In the latter case, prosecutors asked for $1,000 bail, but the judge released James from custody, according to the district attorney’s office and court records.