Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,160
- Reaction score
- 7
Deaf defendant ruled competent in murder case | hometownlife.com | the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers, Mirror Newspapers and Hometown Weeklies
For a second time, a deaf Westland man charged with shooting and killing his deaf girlfriend has been found competent for court proceedings involving first-degree and felony firearm charges.
The latest ruling from the Saline-based Center for Forensic Psychiatry means that 45-year-old Timothy Catalano will return to Westland 18th District Court on Dec. 5 for a preliminary hearing that will determine whether he should stand trial.
Catalano is accused of killing his girlfriend of 24 years, Tammy Susalla, as she lay in bed around 1 a.m. Aug. 27, 2007, at the three-bedroom ranch home they shared on Gloria, near Merriman and Cherry Hill.
The couple's daughter, 19 at the time, was in the basement when authorities said the shooting occurred. Police have said Susalla wanted to end her relationship with Catalano.
Catalano last appeared in front of Westland District Judge C. Charles Bokos in June for a preliminary hearing to determine whether he should stand trial in Wayne County Circuit Court. Catalano had been ruled competent prior to the hearing.
However, Bokos ordered a second competency examination amid conflicting concerns by defense and prosecuting attorneys that Catalano might not have understood the proceedings or that he might be faking his confusion.
"I want to be sure the defendant isn't playing a game," Bokos said in June. "I don't know if it's a scam on his part or a legitimate concern."
Bokos said interpreters, brought into the courtroom to assist Catalano, couldn't say with certainty how much Catalano understood about his preliminary hearing.
Catalano's hearing has now been scheduled for Friday, Dec. 5, after forensic experts ruled yet again that he is competent to understand the court proceedings against him.
For a second time, a deaf Westland man charged with shooting and killing his deaf girlfriend has been found competent for court proceedings involving first-degree and felony firearm charges.
The latest ruling from the Saline-based Center for Forensic Psychiatry means that 45-year-old Timothy Catalano will return to Westland 18th District Court on Dec. 5 for a preliminary hearing that will determine whether he should stand trial.
Catalano is accused of killing his girlfriend of 24 years, Tammy Susalla, as she lay in bed around 1 a.m. Aug. 27, 2007, at the three-bedroom ranch home they shared on Gloria, near Merriman and Cherry Hill.
The couple's daughter, 19 at the time, was in the basement when authorities said the shooting occurred. Police have said Susalla wanted to end her relationship with Catalano.
Catalano last appeared in front of Westland District Judge C. Charles Bokos in June for a preliminary hearing to determine whether he should stand trial in Wayne County Circuit Court. Catalano had been ruled competent prior to the hearing.
However, Bokos ordered a second competency examination amid conflicting concerns by defense and prosecuting attorneys that Catalano might not have understood the proceedings or that he might be faking his confusion.
"I want to be sure the defendant isn't playing a game," Bokos said in June. "I don't know if it's a scam on his part or a legitimate concern."
Bokos said interpreters, brought into the courtroom to assist Catalano, couldn't say with certainty how much Catalano understood about his preliminary hearing.
Catalano's hearing has now been scheduled for Friday, Dec. 5, after forensic experts ruled yet again that he is competent to understand the court proceedings against him.