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Attorney for 14-year-old homicide suspect files to have case moved to juvenile court

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A judge ruled this week that a man accused of fatally stabbing his sister in a Plymouth Township home is competent to stand trial, despite a psychiatrist testifying last week the defendant doesn&#8217;t understand the workings of the legal system.</p><p>Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Vough felt the defense did not meet the burden to prove Eric Nelson Getz was incompetent.</p><p>State troopers say Getz fatally stabbed his sister, Rebecca Getz, 41, after they had an argument in their White Oak Drive home Feb. 4, 2017.</p><p>Getz, 40, told police his sister hit him in the head with an ice scraper and called him a &#8220;retard&#8221; during the argument. At his preliminary hearing, he told reporters, &#8220;She was a (expletive); I killed her.&#8221;</p><p>At his hearing last week, two psychiatrists offered drastically different opinions regarding Getz&#8217;s competency.</p><p>Dr. Richard Fischbein said Getz has suffered from years of trauma to his brain which caused life-long problems with his brain&#8217;s development. He said Getz was huffing glue and abusing marijuana in high school, and suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of a 1994 car accident. He said Getz has a simplistic understanding of how the legal system works.</p><p>Another defense witness testified Getz&#8217;s IQ is between 54 and 62, far lower than the average 100.</p><p>Dr. John S. O&#8217;Brien, who testified for prosecutors, disagreed. Based on his meetings with Getz, he felt his intellectual deficiencies did not affect his ability to understand proceedings.</p><p>It&#8217;s with this assessment that Vough ultimately agreed, citing Getz&#8217;s behavior in the courtroom.</p><p>&#8220;During the hearing which lasted in excess of three hours, Defendant behaved appropriately, appeared to follow the proceedings and even corrected a witness who testified incorrectly regarding his age,&#8221; Vough wrote.</p><p>&#8220;Defendant has failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that he is unable to understand the nature of proceedings or to participate and assist in his defense.&#8221;</p><p>Getz does not currently have any future court dates scheduled.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Getz </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_web1_eric_getz2_mug-cmyk-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Getz </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Eric Nelson Getz accused in sister&#8217;s slaying</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Patrick Kernan</p><p>pkernan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @PatKernan</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Man with low IQ found competent to stand trial in sister’s fatal stabbing