CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) — A northwestern Indiana judge has approved a mental health assessment to determine if a man accused of stabbing his grandparents with a butcher knife in their home is competent to stand trial.
22-year-old Nicholas B. Powers is charged with two counts each of attempted murder and battery in the Jan. 28 attack near the Lake County town of Dyer. He allegedly attacked his 73-year-old grandmother and then turned the butcher knife on his 79-year-old grandfather.
The Northwest Indiana Times reports that a judge has granted a request by Powers’ attorney to appoint mental health professionals to assess whether Powers is competent to stand trial.