After a pretrial conference Friday at which Judge William Martin had hoped to set a trial date for Todd Walters, he instead had to order another pretrial conference because a defense mental health expert’s evaluation of Walters is still not available to prosecutors.
The 40-year-old Walters is accused of beating to death his mother, 72-year-old Ruth Shirey, almost four years ago at the home the two shared on Diamond Avenue in Indiana. She died hours after the early-morning attack, and Walters was found driving her car in Altoona later that day.
Since his arrest, he’s has undergone a series of mental health evaluations and been involuntarily committed to Torrance State Hospital. He was on medication for his mental health issues before his mother’s death, but his father testified at a 2016 hearing that Walters had stopped taking his meds at the time of the beating.
Walters was finally determined to be fit to stand trial last June, and in September, his attorney filed notice that he will pursue an insanity defense. District Attorney Pat Dougherty will ask for a verdict of guilty, or guilty but mentally ill.
The date for the next pretrial conference is dependent on the defense expert’s provision of its evaluation. Pittsburgh psychiatrist Dr. Louis Martone was hired in October to examine Walters.
