SUMMARY: Psychological evaluation ongoing for man accused of murdering parents
Defense attorneys representing a Navarre man charged with murdering his parents have requested psychological reports from his time in the U.S. Army.
Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Lutz said Friday May 6 that military medical records for Rodney Stutzman, 31, 17559 Harrison Road, will be included in a psychological evaluation requested by his defense attorneys. The records date from 2006 to 2009, Lutz said.
Stutzman is charged with murdering his parents, Mervin and Viola Stutzman, whose bodies were discovered Jan. 13 in the basement of their Harrison Road home. An Aug. 29 jury trial is scheduled in Wayne County Common Pleas Court.
Public Defender Bev Wire and special appointed council David Doughten represent Stutzman. Both were unavailable for comment Friday.
Lutz said the records are part of on an ongoing evaluation. The prosecution will consider whether it will need to order a second evaluation depending on the outcome of the evaluation, Lutz said.
It makes sense that they, and us, will want to see (the military) records, Lutz said. Its too early to tell if well order an additional evaluation.
Lutz declined further comment on Stutzmans military service. At the time of his arrest, Stutzman claimed to have been unemployed for three to four months.
Stutzman is charged with two counts of aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, grand theft, theft of credit cards and gross abuse of a corpse. He faces the death penalty on the aggravated murder charges.
Stutzman was arrested Jan. 13 by police in southern West Virginia with assistance from the FBI, who were able to track Stutzmans cell phone. Stutzman was driving his parents 2006 Toyota Tundra at the the time, and charges filed against Stutzman by the grand jury indicate he was also in possession of his parents credit cards.
Deputies were dispatched to the Stutzmans house to check on them after another son, Larry Stutzman, became concerned that he could not reach them.
Deputies entered through a basement and found what Wayne County Sheriff Thomas Maurer called a gruesome scene: Viola was killed by a shotgun blast to the head, and Mervin had been shot in the head and decapitated.
