A Lake County jury will decide next week whether Gary Austin is competent to stand trial in the abduction and slaying of his 7-year-old daughter.
Circuit Judge John Goshgarian ordered the hearing last week after rejecting a motion by Jed Stone, the attorney for Austin, that his client be immediately hospitalized.
”Judge, his (Austin`s) soul is sticking out of his head. He needs to be hospitalized just as if a bone was sticking out of his leg,” Stone said.
The jury will begin the hearing March 6. If it decides that Austin is incompetent to stand trial, he would be committed to a mental hospital until he is competent.
Illinois law says a person is incompetent for trial if he is unable to understand the charges or cooperate with his lawyers.
Austin, 31, of Winthrop Harbor, faces first-degree murder charges in the death of his daughter, Kristin, who disappeared Oct. 4.
At the time of the child`s disappearance, Austin`s wife was seeking custody of Kristin in a divorce proceeding.
Stone told the judge Friday that he wanted Austin committed to Forest Hospital in Des Plaines, a private psychiatric hospital, or to the state`s Elgin Mental Health Center. He said Austin is taking anti-psychotic and anti- depressant drugs, adding, ”He is suffering from an immediate and evident mental illness. Without treatment, his condition will deteriorate.”
But Matthew Chancey and Michael Mermel, assistant Lake County state`s attorneys, argued that Austin`s treatment is in the hands of the Lake County Jail in Waukegan, where he is being held.
