Raymond Boothe’s wife says her husband’s mental state was deteriorating two weeks before he left his son for dead on the Kansas Turnpike.

“It’s like you knew something was going on, but you didn’t know what it was,” Lisa Boothe said.

Boothe’s wife said her husband had suffered a mental breakdown once before.

During interviews on Monday in Cameron, Mo., Lisa Boothe and Raymond Boothe’s mother, Carol Boothe, both talked about events leading to the death of 11-year-old Levi Boothe.

The boy’s body, which had been stabbed and struck by a vehicle, was found the night of Aug. 27 along the west bound lanes of the Kansas Turnpike, just east of the Douglas County line.

Levi’s father, Raymond Boothe, 34, Cameron, Mo., was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

Boothe has been ordered to undergo a mental evaluation at Larned State Hospital. He remained in jail Tuesday, awaiting the transfer.

You can read more about what Boothe’s wife and his mother had to say about his mental state in a story that will appear Thursday in the Journal-World and on this Web site.