BEDFORD —
What started out Friday morning as a perceived failure by a mental-health expert to prepare for the upcoming death-penalty trial has been resolved, and the trial of John Gerholt is now expected to proceed in mid-August.
Gerholt, 41, is charged with gunning down his estranged wife, Karen Gerholt, 24, in a McDonald’s parking lot where she was employed nearly four years ago.
Gerholt, through his court appointed attorney, Thomas Dickey, has maintained that the shooting, which occurred when Karen Gerholt walked out of the restaurant on Nov. 9, 2008 to take a break, was an accident.
The trial has been delayed more than a half-dozen times, primarily with difficulty in getting experts and reports needed by the defense.
This time, Bedford County Senior Judge Daniel Howsare, during a court break Friday, telephoned the expert, Dr. Melvin Nizny of Cincinnati, Ohio and was assured he will be ready for trial.
“Mr. Nizny is available. He will be available for trial and will have his report completed by
Aug. 1,” Howsare said. “He is prepared and is ready to proceed to trial.”
Howsare termed the mix-up as a failure of communication.
Nizny is a forensic psychiatrist who was hired by Bedford County and already paid $14,000 to assess Gerholt, looking for traumatic events over four decades, mental-health issues and drug and alcohol use.
His research and assessments will be used by Ebensburg attorney David Beyer should Gerholt be convicted of first-degree murder and the case goes into the death penalty phase. The expert’s information is needed to show the jury why Gerholt’s actions may have been influenced by his history.
Last week Beyer petitioned the court to appoint another person as the mitigation expert because he said Nizny “did not perform any of the tasks.”
Another expert for the defense, a Pittsburgh-area mental-health expert, was replaced in April after the county paid more than $12,000 and services were not provided, Bedford County District Attorney William Higgins said.
A replacement was hired and information and reports are being exchanged.
Howsare gave the prosecution and the defense until July 9 to make any changes in an already developed list of questions to be posed to potential jurors. Jury selection will begin Aug. 20 with the trial to begin when the panel is in place.
Click here to subscribe to The Tribune-Democrat print edition.
Click here to subscribe to The Tribune-Democrat e-edition.
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
