Fontenot ruled incompetent for trial

WAPAKONETA - A Dublin woman arrested in St. Marys on murder charges has undergone two psychiatric evaluations and was found to be incompetent to stand trial in Auglaize County Municipal Court on Monday.

Karen Fontenot, 54, was arrested in October in connection with the death of Joe Hunter, 56. She was evaluated at the Forensic Psychiatry Center for Western Ohio and by a psychologist designated by the Ohio Department of Disabilities, according to Judge Andrew Augsburger.

Reading a St. Marys Police Department report, assistant prosecutor Benjamin Elder on Monday said the city fire department was dispatched to 204 Williams St. Upon arrival, paramedics discovered Joe Hunter had a stab wound to his chest. The paramedics then found Fontenot holding a knife at the residence, he read.

Hunter was transported to Joint Township District Memorial Hospital in St. Marys, and he later died from his injuries, Elder said. The knife was examined and found to have blood residue that forensic testing proved to be Hunter's.

Fontenot's lawyer, Mike Miller, said she and Hunter had been longtime friends. Elder said Fontenot had gotten mad at Hunter, left the bedroom to get a knife out of a kitchen drawer, came back and stabbed him in the chest with the knife.

Augsburger ordered her to be admitted to the Columbus Developmental Center for the rest of her life. She would have faced life in prison had she been found competent and convicted of the murder charge, he said.

The developmental center's board will report to the court on Fontenot's condition and any progress in six months and continue to do so thereafter biannually. Fontenot may request a change of the conditions of her confinement in six months, he added.

He called the incident "a terrible tragedy" for everyone involved and said "it's sad that it came to this."

Correction:
Fontenot is from Dublin, the original sub-headline was incorrect and has been changed. The error was made in page design.