A court hearing in the Terry Sturgis case Tuesday morning revealed the three required mental health evaluations have been completed, but the results are sealed. A nephrologist did not take a position on Sturgis' sanity, it was revealed during Tuesday's court hearing. Sturgis is being treated for kidney disease.
St. Joseph County Superior Court Judge Jane Woodward Miller previously appointed the doctors — a psychiatrist, a psychologist and a medical doctor — to evaluate 35-year-old Sturgis.
Those evaluations were required because Sturgis’ attorney indicated an insanity defense would be used in the murder charge Sturgis faces in the beating death of his son, 10-year-old Tramelle Sturgis in November 2011.
Now, Sturgis and his attorney will have to decide whether to continue to pursue an insanity defense. Deadline for that decision is April 11.
Sturgis also faces additional charges for allegedly beating his 14-year-old son, who later told police he had been beaten for hours before Tramelle’s death.
The South Bend Tribune contributed to this report.
