News
Alleged Murderer Has Psychiatric Evaluation Ordered
By: Susan Tebben | The Athens Messenger
Posted on:
A McArthur man charged with the murder of a Vinton County woman will undergo a psychiatric evaluation before his case continues.
Richard "Moose" Puckett, 45, was set to have a case management hearing in Vinton County Common Pleas Court on June 11, but the hearing was postponed on the decision that Puckett would undergo the evaluation.
It is unclear where Puckett will be having the evaluation and when it will take place, but a member of the Vinton County Clerk's Office said no other court hearings had been scheduled in the case.
Puckett was charged in January in the 2012 death of Robin Waldren, whose body was found in March 2012 at a home on Carpenter Road in Richland Twp. The home was owned by Puckett's ex-wife, who was a friend of Waldren's.
Puckett's wife found blood on sheets inside the home and a bloody bed quilt on the road leading to the home. Waldren had been reported missing earlier the same day that police found her body on the property, according to previous reporting by The Courier.
The man pleaded innocent to the charges at a court appearance in January and bond was set at $750,000.
Puckett is already being held on a nine-year sentence at the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail after he attacked a transport deputy while being taken to Athens to be interviewed and to undergo a lie detector test. He tried to escape by stealing the cruiser and the deputy attempted to stop the vehicle by firing at the cruiser. Puckett wrecked the cruiser and was taken back into custody.