Judge sends Heltzel to mental health hospital

WARREN — Judge Andrew Logan ruled today that Patrick Heltzel is a mentally ill person who needs to be kept in a state mental hospital for at least the next six months and possibly the rest of his life.

Heltzel, 23, was found not guilty by reason of insanity last month in the 2013 death of Milton Grumbling, 71, of Warren Township.

Judge Logan relied on a recent report from Dr. Thomas Gazley of the Forensic Psychiatric Center of Northeast Ohio in Austintown for the determination that Heltzel should be hospitalized.

Heltzel, 23, will be re-evaluated in another six months and is expected to remain hospitalized after that and evaluated every two years after that.