JERSEYVILLE (AP) - A southwestern Illinois man won't be standing trial in the summer shooting death of his father, at least for now.
Jersey County Circuit Judge Eric Pistorius (pihs-TOHR'-ee-uhs) has found 44-year-old Mark Prough of Kane mentally unfit for his first-degree murder trial. The judge's decision was based on a psychiatrist's review of the suspect.
Authorities say Prough killed his 70-year-old father, Dennis Prough, on July 20. The victim's body was found in a fire that consumed his home near Kane, about 40 miles north of St. Louis.
Mark Prough was captured three days later in Kane, carrying a shotgun.
Pistorius remanded Prough to the state Department of Human Services for treatment. That agency must regularly report whether there's any probability that Prough's mental capacity for trial would improve within a year.
Posted in Crime-and-courts on Tuesday, November 3, 2009 12:45 pm
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