CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Kanawha County circuit judge will allow the prosecution in a murder case to hire an expert to conduct a second forensic evaluation of a man charged with murdering his aunt.
Judge Carrie Webster made the ruling Thursday in the Chad Trent case.
Trent, 32, of Marmet, is charged with killing his aunt, Irma Woody, 52, in her home last July.
Webster found Trent competent to stand trial but a defense expert said Trent should not be held criminal responsible for what happened.
Webster agreed with the prosecution to allow it to retain an expert to do an additional evaluation.
Trent was noticed acting “bizarre” at a Charleston convenience store shortly after the stabbing.
Trent told police that he would have been better off had he not smoked “so much” marijuana and should have been taking his medications. Detectives later learned that Trent suffers from schizophrenia.