A Nelson County Circuit Court judge granted a motion filed by attorneys for a Shipman man accused of first-degree murder to have him evaluated by a mental health professional to determine if he is competent to stand trial.
Christopher Meeks, 20, is charged with first-degree murder in the connection with the May 2009 stabbing death of Opal Page, 73, of Afton.
Nelson County Circuit Court Judge J. Michael Gamble appointed Dr. Eileen Ryan for the evaluation.
Prosecutors announced in June that they would seek the death penalty against Meeks and Austin Griffin, 20, of Afton, the other man charged with first-degree murder in connection with Page’s death.
Both men were also charged with burglary and robbery.
Authorities found Page’s body in her Rockfish Valley Highway home on May 6, 2009, after she was reported to have missed a lunch date. Page, who lived alone and was a retired teacher’s aide, had suffered multiple stab wounds, an autopsy showed.
Meeks is scheduled for a jury trial from March 1 to March 11, 2011, and Griffin’s jury trial is set to take place from May 31 to June 10, 2011.
In the motion filed by Meeks’ Charlottesville-based law firm, Dygert, Wright, Hobbs & Heilberg, it stated that they were requesting the evaluation of Meeks to “assist the defense in preparation and presentation of information concerning the defendant’s history, character or mental condition at the time of the offense.”
The motion also stated that the evaluation would include whether or not Meeks acted under “extreme mental or emotional disturbance” at the time of the offense.
Meeks is due back in Nelson County Circuit Court at 11 a.m. Sept. 14.
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