Man charged with killing Ill. pastor ruled unfit for trial

(RNS) The man charged with killing an Illinois pastor as he preached at a Sunday service is mentally unfit to stand trial, a judge ruled Tuesday (Oct. 20). Madison County Circuit Judge Richard Tognarelli made the ruling after a psychologist who performed a court-ordered examination said Terry Sedlacek was schizophrenic, the Associated Press reported. Sedlacek […]

(RNS) The man charged with killing an Illinois pastor as he preached at a Sunday service is mentally unfit to stand trial, a judge ruled Tuesday (Oct. 20).

Madison County Circuit Judge Richard Tognarelli made the ruling after a psychologist who performed a court-ordered examination said Terry Sedlacek was schizophrenic, the Associated Press reported.

Sedlacek was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery after the March 8 shooting that killed the Rev. Fred Winters in his pulpit. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf.


Tognarelli has placed Sedlacek in the custody of the state Department of Human Services, which is required to report within a month whether it is likely that Sedlacek’s mental capacity for a trial will improve within the next year.

Psychologist Robert Heilbronner told the court that Selacek would have difficulty following a trial process and would “be unable to respond in a relevant manner during pleading or testimony,” the AP reported.

Sedlacek’s public defender, John Rekowski, said the decision was “obviously the correct ruling.”

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