Mental health issues prompt trial delay for Penn Township man accused of killing father, aunt
Jul. 18—A Penn Township man charged with the murders of his father and aunt nearly two years ago was found competent to stand trial Tuesday morning.
But that ruling was almost immediately rescinded following a mid-hearing outburst during which Neal Hubish, 43, walked out of a court hearing he attended remotely from Torrance State Hospital in Derry Township.
Just minutes after Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bilik-DeFazio ruled Hubish was able to be tried on two counts of first-degree murder, she reversed course and determined he was in further need of mental health treatment.
Hubish is accused of killing his father, Arthur Hubish, 71, and aunt Maria Puskarich, 76, inside his father's Burrell Hill Road home on Nov. 9, 2021.
Hubish has a history of violence and mental health issues. He told police he awoke upon hearing the pair arguing and found them "laying in a pool of blood" inside a hallway. He later admitted to police he repeatedly stabbed them, according to court records.
The judge in 2022 found Hubish incompetent to stand trial and ordered that he be treated at Torrance following an incident in which he had to be removed from a courtroom after shouting obscenities at a deputy sheriff. In January, Bilik-DeFazio found Hubish's mental health condition improved and declared him competent for trial and ordered his return to the county jail.
A month later, Hubish was back at Torrance and again found incompetent to stand trial after concerns about his mental health resurfaced during another pretrial hearing. His defense lawyer claimed his client did not understand the nature of the charges he faced.
Hubish attended Tuesday's hearing remotely from Torrance, where his doctor told the judge his mental health had significantly improved and recommended he be declared competent for trial. The judge made that ruling, but in doing so ordered Hubish remain at Torrance to ensure his mental health did not deteriorate.
Hubish demanded he be returned to the jail and argued with attorney Ken Noga, who suggested a plan to explore how his client's mental health issues could be used as part of the defense during the trial. Dr. William Hochter told the judge Hubish walked out of the room as the hearing progressed.
"This shows his inability to work with counsel," Hochter said. "When he doesn't get what he wants, he gets volatile."
Hubish will remain at Torrance for at least another 90 days and his trial is indefinitely on hold, the judge said.
Hubish's mental health has been an issue in previous prosecutions.
He was sentenced to nearly two years in prison for holding his mother captive after she picked him up from jail after he was paroled on other unrelated charges in 2016, according to court records.
He also was charged in 2019 with assaulting his father and a year later was again arrested following allegations he attacked a police officer who was taking him into custody on a mental health warrant.
Hubish was convicted and sentenced to serve up to 23 months in jail in the 2019 and 2020 cases.
In addition to the alleged murders, Hubish is awaiting trial on charges that he assaulted a guard at the Westmoreland County jail.
Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich by email at rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .
