It was revealed during a pretrial hearing this afternoon that the woman charged with hitting a Cloverdale priest over the head with a hammer was found insane.
Putnam County court officials say it was determined during a psychological evaluation that 65-year-old Frances Wilhelm was insane at the time of the offense. During her arraignment hearing in October, Wilhelm pleaded both not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity to a felonious assault charge and attempted murder charge. On Labor Day, Father Herman Scherger of Cloverdale, returned home to an unfamiliar car in his driveway. When he got out of his car, Wilhelm hit Scherger in the head with a hammer.
At the pretrial hearing today, Wilhelm requested a new attorney saying she doesn't feel the charges fit the offense and she wants an attorney who will defend her in an appropriate manner.
"I didn't stab anyone, I didn't shoot anyone, I didn't hospitalize anyone. I did not go there with the intent to commit murder," Wilhelm said during her pretrial Monday.Â
Judge Randall Basinger granted Wilhelm's request. A pretrial with the new attorney will be set at a later date.
