TILLAMOOK - Edward Morris is not mentally competent - at least for the time being - to stand trial for the murder of his pregnant wife and three children two years ago, a judge ruled Tuesday.

The ruling by Tillamook County Judge David Hantke indefinitely delays any trial for the 38-year-old Morris.

Hantke ordered Morris taken to the Oregon State Hospital in Salem for further psychiatric examination.

The judge based his decision on a recently completed evaluation of Morris by forensic psychologist Richard Hulteng.

In that evaluation, Hulteng said Morris had stopped taking anti-psychotic medication on Jan. 26 and his mental condition has worsened since.

"It is clear that there has been significant deterioration in Mr. Morris. His delusional thinking is much more pronounced," the judge said in court.

Hulteng's report said that Morris thought "Satan and demons had caused the murders" of his wife and three children. Earlier court documents have said Morris told psychologists that before the murders in December 2002, demons had told him to kill his family and himself.

The new report by Hulteng said that on Jan. 2, before he went off his medication, Morris drank a mixture of bathroom disinfectant and all-purpose cleaner, wrongly believing it would kill him.

During the Tuesday court hearing, Morris stood and tried to make a statement but was cut short by Hantke.

"You are unable to proceed," Hantke told him.

As Morris was being led to a police van to be taken back to jail, he was asked by reporters what he'd intended to say in court.

"Many things," said Morris, who is charged with seven counts of aggravated murder, one for each victim and one for each victim aged under 14.

Just before the van's door was closed, Morris muttered, "State justice at its purest."

Fryer said that under the judge's order, Oregon State Hospital would have to report back within 60 days on Morris' mental state.

Theoretically, Fryer said, hospital officials could find that Morris continues to be delusional, which would further postpone a trial.

Hunters found the body of Morris' wife, Renee, in Tillamook State Forest on Dec. 21, 2002. The bodies of his children - 8-year-old Alexis, 10-year-old Bryant and Jonathan, 4 - were found nearby later that day.

Morris was arrested on Jan. 4, 2003, in Baker City after his van was spotted by travelers and reported to police.

Morris told a detective that he shot his 31-year-old wife and two sons in a car along Highway 6, drove into the Drift Creek area and dumped the bodies.

He told the detective he then killed his 8-year-old daughter and left her body at the same site. An autopsy showed she had been stabbed at least 18 times.

In the report presented by Hulteng to the court on Tuesday, the psychologist said Morris had told him he was planning to dismiss his defense lawyers and to represent himself at trial to increase his chances of getting the death penalty.

However, Morris said he changed his mind about seeking execution after hearing God's voice telling him that he "had a lot in store for him," Hulteng said.

"He believes that if he goes to the State Hospital, he will someday be released, marry a widow with children and die surrounded by grandchildren," Hulteng said in the report.

The indefinite delay of the trial disappointed Morris' parents, who were in the courtroom Tuesday.

Paul Morris, 60, said while his son has been "going downhill" since going off his medication, he hopes the case can be brought to some kind of conclusion soon.

"I'd just like to get this over with," he said.