Piqua woman indicted for arson is mentally incompetent, judge rules

Credit: STEVE BAKER / STAFF

Credit: STEVE BAKER / STAFF

A Miami County judge ruled Wednesday that a Piqua woman indicted for aggravated arson in a 2016 fire that destroyed her house is mentally incompetent and ordered her commitment to the Northwest Ohio Psychiatric Hospital.

Katharine Wells, 57, was accused of knowingly creating a risk of serious physical harm by setting fire to the house on Janet Drive on Aug. 23, 2016. Piqua police reports said Wells told them she started the fire in kitchen curtains and then left the residence.`

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Wells initially was charged in county Municipal Court, where she was found incompetent to stand trial in November 2016 and sent for up to a year to the Northwest Ohio Psychiatric Hospital in Toledo.

She was indicted by a county grand jury in late 2017 and a not guilty by reason of insanity plea was filed Feb. 21.

In her ruling Wednesday, Common Pleas Judge Jeannine Pratt found Wells incompetent to stand trial for the aggravated arson charge and “incapable of understanding the nature and seriousness of the criminal charge, legal proceedings or assisting in her defense.”

Pratt said that based on stipulation of facts by prosecutors and Wells' defense lawyer, she found Wells committed the offense, is mentally incompetent and unrestorable. Based on the need to protect the public safety, the judge ordered Wells committed to the psychiatric hospital for inpatient treatment.

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The hospital will report to the court on the hospitalization. The termination of commitment will take place when Wells is determined to be no longer mentally ill, the court orders the termination of commitment or the maximum time she could have been ordered to serve in prison passes. The maximum prison term in the arson case would be 11 years.

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