Accused Teenager’s Mental Health to be Considered

TYLER (AP) – The issue of whether a teen accused of stabbing his teacher to death in 2009 can stand trial as an adult will again be considered in court. A hearing was scheduled Wednesday in Tyler for the youth, who’s now 17. He is accused in the deadly attack on special education teacher Todd Henry in a classroom at John Tyler High School. The Texas Supreme Court ruled last October that the question of the teen’s competency for trial can’t be determined until a mental health evaluation is completed. His court-appointed attorney, Jim Huggler, declined comment Tuesday except to say the hearing involves further mental health issues stemming from the case. The teen was returned to juvenile detention in Tyler in February after spending three months at the Vernon State Hospital.