Beach Park man accused of killing dad with garden shears plans insanity defense
A Beach Park man charged with killing his father with garden shears in July 2019 will pursue an insanity defense, his attorney said Tuesday.
George W. Bryce, 22, is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of his 70-year-old father, Warren Bryce. The elder Bryce died July 19, 2019, one day after, authorities say, his son stabbed him with the shears during an argument.
"Just so the court's aware, we've tendered an insanity defense to the (prosecution) and they were consulting with an expert," Bryce attorney John Radosevich said Tuesday during a pretrial hearing conducted over Zoom. "We're anxiously awaiting word back from what they intend to do with that."
In September 2019, a Lake County Judge ordered Bryce 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 facility, the staff at the state Health and Human Services facility declared Bryce mentally fit to stand trial. He was transferred back to the Lake County jail, where he remains held on $3 million bail.
Bryce's trial had been set to begin April 20 but was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. His case is scheduled to return to court for another status hearing July 21.