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Defendant in murder case to be treated until competency restored
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
A man accused of killing his grandfather in the spring will be treated at a mental-health facility until his competency can be restored to stand trial.
Judge R. Scott Krichbaum made the ruling Monday during a hearing in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for Julius Williams, 28, of Harvard Avenue. He is charged with the aggravated murder of William Cox, 87, who was found bludgeoned to death with a hammer inside the home he shared with Williams.
The Mahoning County Coroner’s office ruled that Cox died of blunt-force injuries to the chest and head.
Williams has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
Judge Krichbaum’s ruling came after an evaluation was done to determine if Williams is competent enough to aid in his own defense if the case goes to trial. The evaluation recommended that Williams try to be restored to competency.
That initial evaluation was ordered after Williams was indicted and arraigned in common pleas court.
Under state law, the state has up to a year to see if competency can be restored.
Legally, a defendant who is found not competent to stand trial has to be able to have that competency restored within a year in order to be tried at all.
If that should happen with Williams, he would then be committed to a state mental-health facility.