Man accused of fatally stabbing father with garden shears to have mental fitness trial
The Beach Park man charged with killing his father with garden shears last month will go before a Lake County judge next week to determine his mental fitness.
George W. Bryce, 21, is charged with first-degree murder. According to authorities, Bryce stabbed his 70-year-old father during a domestic dispute on July 18. His father, Warren Bryce, died the next day at Vista East Medical Center in Waukegan from injuries he sustained in the attack.
George Bryce was initially charged with attempted first-degree murder but the charges were upgraded following his father's death.
Defense attorney John Radosevich requested the hearing to determine mental fitness before Lake County Judge Judge Patricia Fix Wednesday morning, according to court records. Fix scheduled the mental fitness hearing for Aug. 27 before Lake County Judge Christopher Stride.
George Bryce was arrested on July 18 shortly after Lake County sheriff's police arrived at the home he lived at with his father on Peacock Road in Beach Park. Police had received a report of a domestic battery in progress and found Warren Bryce lying on the floor with "multiple sharp-force injuries," according to authorities.
Bryce remained at Lake County jail Thursday. Should Bryce post the required 10 percent of his $3 million bail, he would remain on 24-hour curfew with electronic home monitoring, among other conditions.