Purdue murder suspect Ji Min Sha will not return to psychiatric hospital
LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue murder suspect Ji Min Sha will not be returning to the psychiatric hospital in Logansport at this time, according to a court order filed Monday by Tippecanoe Circuit Judge Sean Persin.
At last week’s status hearing, both Sha's defense and prosecutor requested that Persin file an order to return Sha to the psychiatric hospital so he can receive treatment until physicians believe Sha is competent to stand trial.
Sha is accused killing his roommate, Varun Manish Chheda, 20, inside their first-floor McCutcheon Hall dorm room on Oct. 5, 2022.
Sha stabbed Chheda several times in the head and neck with a folding knife, according to prosecutors. Police found the knife on the floor near where Chheda's body.
Doctors at the Logansport hospital determined Sha was competent for trial late last month, but since he's returned to the Tippecanoe County Jail, Sha has refused to take his medication, based on testimony at a hearing two weeks ago. At last week's hearing, Sha said he's resume taking the medication.
Sha's defense noted there was a provision in Indiana that would allow a defendant to return to the hospital if the status of their competency appears to decline within 30 days of leaving the hospital.
However, Monday's court order noted that “according to the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction, this provision only applies to commitments in civil cases and not competency proceedings in criminal cases.”
Because of this technicality, there was no transfer order filed Monday to send Sha back to the psychiatric hospital in Logansport.
The order also noted that no provision in the law allows the court to reuse any competency reports that were conducted before September 6, 2023, when physicians at the psychiatric hospital determined that Sha was competent to stand trial.
Because of this, the court granted the defense’s request to have Sha’s competency re-evaluated by two physicians.
Dr. George Parker and Dr. Joanna Will, two independent court-appointed physicians, were reappointed by the court to conduct new competency evaluations.
The defense also requested the court to have the physicians conduct a sanity evaluation, but the court determined that it would revisit that topic once Sha’s new competency evaluations were completed.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Sha remains incarcerated at the Tippecanoe County Jail.
Sha's next status hearing is scheduled for Dec. 8.
Noe Padilla is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email him at Npadilla@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter at 1NoePadilla.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue murder suspect Sha will not return to mental hospital
