Nick McWilliams reporting – A Newcomerstown man who poured gasoline on his wife and lit a shed on fire has been deemed competent to stand trial.
On September 21st, it’s alleged that 40-year old Ralph Hutzel Jr. struck his wife before dumping gasoline on her, then lighting a small structure on the family’s property on fire, before fleeing the scene and eventually being apprehended.
He appeared via video call in Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Judge Michael Ernest’s courtroom Monday related to two competency reviews, along with sanity enquiries, which deemed him fit to stand trial.
“At that time, Mr. Hutzel was competent to stand trial. In the concern of sanity, the court offers the opinion that the defendant was not experiencing symptoms of a severe mental illness or defect at the time of the offense, charging a result to him not knowing the wrongfulness of the offense charged.”
Following an initial evaluation from Forensic Diagnostic Center District 9, Hutzel’s counsel asked for a secondary competency test, which returned the same ruling.
Ernest accepted the findings, along with the defense and state, and scheduled a trial date of June 8th.
Hutzel is currently incarcerated in the Tuscarawas County Justice Center.
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