MARINETTE (NBC 26) — One of the suspects in a fatal Marinette drowning case has been deemed fit to stand trial, court records show.
Tylor Birch, 21, appeared at the Marinette County Courthouse for a competency hearing Thursday, where a judge found him competent to proceed.
Birch was previously found not competent to stand trial in December.
In Wisconsin, being “competent” to stand trial means a defendant has the mental capacity to understand the court proceedings and assist in their own defense. Courts determine competency through evaluations, and if a defendant is found incompetent, the trial is delayed until competency is restored.
According to a criminal complaint, 16-year-old Peyton Carnot — also charged in the case — told detectives that he and Birch grabbed 13-year-old Jakob Bowerman by the hands and feet and “swung him off the edge” of a Marinette pier in August 2025.
Bowerman died three days after police and first responders rescued him from the water.
In court last summer, Marinette County District Attorney DeShea Morrow said Carnot and Birch did try to help Bowerman as he drowned. “But that doesn’t change what they did to start this process, which resulted in the death of the victim,” Morrow said.
Birch is being held on a $500,000 cash bond. He is scheduled to return to court April 30 for a preliminary and arraignment hearing.
