Judge approves mental health evaluation for ex-IU student

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) - A judge has approved a mental health evaluation for a former Indiana University student who allegedly attacked a Muslim woman.

The (Bloomington) Herald-Times reports (http://bit.ly/1PLOItT ) that a Monroe County judge approved a request by Triceten (Triss-TON') Bickford's attorney for a psychiatrist and a psychologist to examine him.

Attorney Katharine Liell says Bickford was drunk but she suspects some sort of mental health crisis fueled her client's actions.

The 19-year-old Fort Wayne man faces multiple felony charges, including intimidation, strangulation and battery, in the Oct. 17 attack in Bloomington about 50 miles southwest of Indianapolis.

Authorities say Bickford shouted anti-black racial slurs and tried to remove the Muslim woman's headscarf as she was sitting with her 9-year-old daughter outside a Turkish cafe.

Bickford was later expelled from IU.

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Information from: The Herald Times, http://www.heraldtimesonline.com