Teen accused in New Carlisle 6-year-old's murder set for more mental evaluations
SOUTH BEND — A judge presiding over the March 2021 murder of a New Carlisle 6-year-old ruled Tuesday that psychological examinations are needed to determine if the teenager accused of the crime is competent to stand trial.
The decision from St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Sanford comes after attorneys representing Anthony Hutchens have sought to have him declared legally insane at the time of the offense.
With Sanford's order, two doctors from the Kokomo area will evaluate Anthony and submit their findings to the court. The boy is currently in custody at the Robert J. Kinsey Youth Center in Kokomo and called in to Tuesday's hearing.
According to police and prosecutors, Anthony molested and killed Grace Ross, whose body was found in a wooded area behind the New Carlisle apartment complex where they both lived.
If Anthony is found incompetent or legally insane, proceedings will shift toward considerations for psychiatric care, though there will likely be hearings on those issues once the doctors submit their reports.
Competency has been a central issue in the case since prosecutors charged Anthony with the murder of Grace. Court documents in the case allege the boy told police a "shadowy man" controlled him and made him strangle Grace after she had followed him into the woods.
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Anthony's case was originally filed in probate, or juvenile court, and a hearing on the issue of his competency was delayed so psychologists could conduct interviews with and examinations of the boy.
Eventually, the parties agreed he was competent to stand trial without having the hearing, though Anthony's mother testified at a later hearing that he is on the autism spectrum, has ADHD and a sensory disorder.
Competency and insanity
Anthony's case is now in adult, or superior court, and two new doctors will evaluate him. Though similar in nature, the issues of competency and insanity are legally distinct.
A competency evaluation is used to determine if a defendant is able to understand the proceedings and assist in their defense. If Anthony is found not competent, the trial would be postponed while he would be committed to the division of mental health and addiction.
Anthony's attorneys also intend to use the insanity defense which comes into play at trial. Per Indiana code, trials involving an insanity defense can result in four outcomes: guilty, not guilty, not responsible by reason of insanity or guilty but mentally ill.
For a jury to find a defendant not responsible by insanity, the defense must prove the person has a mental illness or disability and that the disease or disability made them unable to understand what they did was wrong.
If a defendant were to be found guilty but mentally ill, they are sentenced as normal with court mandated mental health treatment. If a defendant were to be found not responsible by reason of insanity, the judge holds an additional hearing on placement options.
Sanford said the doctors, one psychologist and one psychiatrist, are expected to have their evaluations done before mid-August, though an Aug. 15 trial date was vacated.
Anthony's lawyers have also requested a bench trial — which means the case would be decided by a judge and not a jury — though prosecutors have not yet weighed in on that motion.
Email Marek Mazurek at mmazurek@sbtinfo.com. Follow him on Twitter: @marek_mazurek
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Teen accused in New Carlisle girl's 2021 murder to undergo evaluations
