An Ohio University graduate student charged with his father's murder was moved yesterday to a mental health facility.
Jonathan Bebb, 32, was moved to the Timothy B. Moritz Forensic Unit in Columbus, said Lt. James Eddy, of the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail. The facility is considered a maximum security mental health facility.
The Moritz Forensic Unit is a locked down facility
according to a news release from the county prosecutor's office. Bebb will remain at the facility until the completion of a mental evaluation.
The evaluation is intended to determine if Bebb is competent enough to help prepare his defense, which could take months, said C. David Warren, Athens County prosecutor. The potential length of the evaluation has prompted the indefinite continuance of an Oct. 5 pre-trial hearing in Athens Municipal Court.
Bebb had documented mental health issues, Warren said in a Sept. 26 Post story. Warren did not elaborate on the nature of the issues or what he meant by documented.
Most mental evaluations are completed and returned to the court within about 20 to 60 days, said Jim Ignelzi, deputy director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health. The evaluation is paid for with state funds.
Bebb had been incarcerated at Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail since he was arrested for the murder of his father, Ohio University professor Phillip Bebb, on Sept. 25.
R.J. Shostak, Bebb's attorney, declined to comment.
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