Motion for psychiatric evaluation filed in Johnson case
Lead Summary
By
Caitlin Forsha-crforsha@gmail.com
A motion for psychiatric examination has been filed in Whitney Johnson's case, after Johnson appeared in court Tuesday for a final pretrial.
After a motion to continue was granted Aug. 21, the original date set for Johnson's final pretrial, Johnson appeared before Judge Rocky Coss in Highland County Common Pleas Court Tuesday morning.
As previously reported in The Highland County Press, Johnson and Nathan Ritze were both indicted on charges of murder in a five-count indictment issued by a Highland County grand jury Tuesday, Aug. 6.
In separate indictments, Ritze and Johnson were each charged with murder, an unclassified felony; involuntary manslaughter, a felony of the first degree; child endangering, a felony of the third degree; tampering with evidence, a felony of the third degree; and abuse of a corpse, a felony of the fifth degree.
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Ritze, 25, and Johnson, 26, had previously been charged with abuse of a corpse, a felony of the fifth degree, and tampering with evidence, a felony of the third degree, in a case involving Johnson's infant son being buried on a Diven Road property.
Coss stated that he is currently trying to get the court docket in place for both Johnson and Ritze. Ritze's attorney, J.D. Wagoner, filed a request for mental evaluation for Ritze before his final pretrial. He is next scheduled to appear in court Sept. 19 for a hearing on the evaluation.
"I didn't know if you had discussed possibly doing that or not," Coss said to William Armintrout, legal counsel for Johnson. "I'm not telling you how to do your job. I just want to know what [to do] in terms of scheduling this."
Armintrout told Coss that he intends to file a request for competency. A motion for psychiatric examination was filed Tuesday.
A hearing on Johnson's evaluation has been scheduled for Oct. 3.
After a motion to continue was granted Aug. 21, the original date set for Johnson's final pretrial, Johnson appeared before Judge Rocky Coss in Highland County Common Pleas Court Tuesday morning.
As previously reported in The Highland County Press, Johnson and Nathan Ritze were both indicted on charges of murder in a five-count indictment issued by a Highland County grand jury Tuesday, Aug. 6.
In separate indictments, Ritze and Johnson were each charged with murder, an unclassified felony; involuntary manslaughter, a felony of the first degree; child endangering, a felony of the third degree; tampering with evidence, a felony of the third degree; and abuse of a corpse, a felony of the fifth degree.
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Ritze, 25, and Johnson, 26, had previously been charged with abuse of a corpse, a felony of the fifth degree, and tampering with evidence, a felony of the third degree, in a case involving Johnson's infant son being buried on a Diven Road property.
Coss stated that he is currently trying to get the court docket in place for both Johnson and Ritze. Ritze's attorney, J.D. Wagoner, filed a request for mental evaluation for Ritze before his final pretrial. He is next scheduled to appear in court Sept. 19 for a hearing on the evaluation.
"I didn't know if you had discussed possibly doing that or not," Coss said to William Armintrout, legal counsel for Johnson. "I'm not telling you how to do your job. I just want to know what [to do] in terms of scheduling this."
Armintrout told Coss that he intends to file a request for competency. A motion for psychiatric examination was filed Tuesday.
A hearing on Johnson's evaluation has been scheduled for Oct. 3.