web1_pills_photo_1.jpeg

Police: Mom charged after drugs fell from tot’s diaper

web1_TOM_MOONEY.jpg

Out On a Limb: Genealogical Society gains access to more records

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A Plymouth Township man whose mental competency was questioned as he faced a criminal homicide charge for killing his sister in 2017 was sentenced Friday to spend at least a decade in state prison.</p><p>Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Vough sentenced Eric Nelson Getz, 41, to 10-to-20 years in prison for killing Rebecca Getz, 41, after they had an argument in their White Oak Drive residence on Feb. 4, 2017.</p><p>Getz pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in April after Vough determined he was competent to face trial on an open count of criminal homicide.</p><p>Getz&#8217;s attorney, Paul Walker, attempted to have Getz declared incompetent as Getz sustained serious brain trauma from a vehicle crash in 1994 followed by marijuana use and huffing glue.</p><p>Two psychiatrists testified at a mental competency hearing in November that Getz was diagnosed with a learning disability while attending high school in the early 1990s, and the vehicle crash and narcotic use resulted in continued damage to Getz&#8217;s intellectual brain development.</p><p>State police charged Getz with stabbing his sister in the back during an argument.</p><p>Court records say Getz refused to allow his sister to enter a house without him or his father because he believed she had stolen items previously. During the argument, Getz claimed his sister struck him in the head with an ice scrapper and called him a &#8220;retard,&#8221; which led to the stabbing, court records say.</p><p>Getz&#8217;s plea agreement called for a 10-to-20 year prison term.</p><p>Assistant district attorneys Gene M. Molino and Gregory S. Skibitsky Jr. prosecuted.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/web1_Eric-Getz-06212019.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Eric Getz is escorted from the Luzerne County Courthouse after being sentenced Friday for killing his sister. Ed Lewis | Times Leader </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/web1_Eric-Getz-06212019.jpg</photo0><caption0>Eric Getz is escorted from the Luzerne County Courthouse after being sentenced Friday for killing his sister. Ed Lewis | Times Leader </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Ed Lewis</p><p>elewis@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Brother sentenced for killing sister