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Beach Park man accused of killing dad with garden shears deemed fit for trial

The Beach Park man charged with killing his father in July with garden shears has been deemed fit to stand trial by mental health experts.

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 sustained in the attack.

In September, Lake County Judge Christopher Stride - who handles matters of fitness - ordered George Bryce sent to a mental health facility in Elgin for treatment, based largely on a report issued by a court-appointed psychologist. After more than two months at the secure Health and Human Services facility, the staff deemed him fit and sent him back to the Lake County jail.

George Bryce was arrested on July 18 shortly after Lake County sheriff's police arrived at the home he shared 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 is scheduled to be back before Lake County Judge Patricia Fix, the judge assigned to preside over his trial, for a case management hearing on Dec. 20.

His trial is set for April 20, 2020.

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