Joseph Chandler will not move forward with an insanity defense, his attorney told a judge in a mental observation hearing Friday.
Chandler is charged with second-degree murder while armed in connection with the shooting death of Shirley Tucker.
On Dec.6, 2012, police found Tucker with five gunshot wounds to her left arm pit, upper right back, left side and left arm. A bullet was also retrieved from Tucker’s right chest cavity, according to court documents.
Tucker later died at a local hospital.
Chandler, 73, initially asserted an insanity defense and was held at St. Elizabeths hospital for a mental observation.
Doctors at St. Elizabeths concluded that Chandler was competent to stand trial, according to Judge Jennifer Anderson, and he was released today.
Chandler’s trial is scheduled to begin March 16, 2015.
