Trish Bennett, Editor
CIRCLEVILLE – Trevor A. Teets has been set for a jury trial in the murder of Alicia M. Pentecost-Salyers after the judge denied a motion requesting a second psychiatric evaluation on Friday.
According to Judy Wolford, Pickaway County Prosecutor, she received word of the decision at 3:19 p.m., and the case has been set for trial on Sept. 21.
The decision by Judge P. Randall Knece came little more than an hour after the end of a hearing on the matter in Pickaway County Common Pleas Court.
Dr. Kevin J. Edwards, PhD, the Netcare psychiatrist who originally evaluated Teets for competency, was the only witness called during Friday’s hearing. Details on his testimony and other information about the hearing can be found here.
The results of the first evaluation, which found Teets competent to stand trial, were brought into question at a competency hearing June 17 when Teets’ attorney, Jo Kaiser, requested a second independent evaluation at the county’s expense.
Teets, 20, is charged with murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter and domestic violence in the death of 19-year-old Salyers shortly after 2 p.m. Feb. 1 at his apartment at 129 Caroline Ct., Circleville.
He has been held on a $2 million bond in the Pickaway County Jail since his arrest. He was indicted Feb. 6 by the Pickaway County Grand Jury.
Teets originally pleaded not guilty to the charges at an arraignment Feb. 11. Kaiser then filed a motion March 13 to request a competency hearing. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity April 8, when the Netcare evaluation was ordered, and he was declared competent to stand trial June 17.
If convicted of murder, Teets faces 15 years to life behind bars and a $15,000 fine.
This article originally appeared on The Pickaway News Journal
