A judge was set to hear evidence and arguments about whether a 16-year-old boy charged in a stabbing rampage at a western Pennsylvania high school should be moved to a mental health facility.
Alex Hribal, 16, of Murrysville, has been held at a juvenile detention center in Westmoreland County since he allegedly used two 8-inch kitchen knives to stab 20 fellow students and a security guard at Franklin Regional High School on April 9.
Hribal's attorney, Patrick Thomassey, contends the boy's mental condition is deteriorating and will worsen unless he's housed in a secure mental facility.
Common Pleas Judge Christopher Feliciani has scheduled a hearing Friday morning to determine whether to move the boy until he can stand trial.
Thomassey has said he'll eventually try to get the case moved to juvenile court, where a judge would have jurisdiction over Hribal only until he's 21. For now, Hribal is charged as an adult with 21 counts each of attempted homicide and aggravated assault, plus a school weapons violation, and faces decades in prison if convicted.
Thomassey has said the boy's mental state will be a factor in his defense whether or not the case winds up in juvenile court. District Attorney John Peck has said he'll oppose moving the case to juvenile court.
In Pennsylvania, cases can be moved to juvenile court if the defense can convince a judge that the defendant is more likely to be helped and rehabilitated in that venue, where treatment and remedial measures are stressed.
Hribal has not appeared publicly since the day he was arrested, but he's expected to attend Friday's hearing as the judge has ordered sheriff's deputies to transfer him to court.
Hribal already has waived a preliminary hearing on the charges, but an Oct. 6 trial date has been postponed indefinitely given the other legal questions surrounding the case.
Thomassey has acknowledged the boy committed the crimes, but said questions remain about the boy's ability to recognize the seriousness and wrongfulness of his actions.
A police search warrant indicates Hribal wrote a document three days before the attack in which he described his dissatisfaction with school and society. The document is entitled "Ragnorok," which is a Norse Legend about the end of the world, police said.
