Judge finds Ohio man competent

A forensic psychiatrist testified about the accused man's ability.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- An Ohio man charged with killing a retired Roman Catholic priest and sex offender is competent to stand trial, a judge ruled Monday.
Fayette County Circuit Judge Rebecca Overstreet on Friday will set a trial date for Jason Anthony Russell in the death of the Rev. Mr. Joseph Pilger, 78. Russell, 24, also is charged with burglary, theft and being a persistent felon. He has pleaded innocent.
Russell, of Ironton, Ohio, underwent a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation earlier this year. His lawyer, public defender Herb West, asked in June that a second evaluation be done, a request that Circuit Judge Lewis Paisley granted.
Dr. Candace Walker, a forensic psychiatrist at the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center in LaGrange, where the evaluations took place, testified Monday that Russell was able to discuss various legal strategies he was considering and that he understood the charges against him. She called him "quite intelligent and goal-oriented."
Dr. Walker said Russell's IQ was 100, which was normal, she said. Dr. Walker was the only person to testify during the hearing.
Father Pilger's body was found Dec. 5 at his southeast Lexington home.
Father Pilger pleaded guilty to sexual abuse in 1995 for abusing three brothers and their cousin in 1968 and 1969, when he was their pastor in Morganfield in western Kentucky. The victims were younger than 15 and serving as altar boys at the parish. After a plea bargain, Father Pilger received five years' probation, beginning in January 1995.