A Hampstead 17-year-old accused of fatally stabbing his mother last year cannot be found criminally responsible for the slaying, state psychiatrists have determined.
Timothy Kevin Fick, who has been confined to the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center since shortly after his arrest on first-degree murder charges last Aug. 26, was insane at the time his mother was killed, the psychiatrists said, according to Carroll prosecutors.
The finding means that the teen-ager, who has pleaded not guilty and not criminally responsible, cannot be confined in a state prison if he is convicted of murdering his mother, Assistant State's Attorney Theresa M. Adams said.
The youth is accused in the slaying of Jean Kellogg Fick, 57, at their home about 2:15 a.m. on Aug. 26, shortly after he arrived home from his job as a cook at the Pizza Hut in Hampstead.
A hearing on pretrial motions is scheduled for tomorrow, but attorneys said last week that the likelihood of any resolution to the case during the hearing is unlikely.
The Fick youth was sent to Perkins for an emergency evaluation after his arrest because he was "hysterical, screaming, putting his head in the toilet and exhibiting other bizarre behavior," according to court records.
That evaluation, and an informal one conducted in December, concluded that he could be found criminally responsible in the slaying. The latest one, dated Jan. 25, apparently conflicts with the earlier findings, Ms. Adams said.
The January evaluation has been sealed by a Circuit Court judge, and neither Ms. Adams nor the defendant's attorneys would provide a copy.
When a defendant enters a not criminally responsible plea -- an insanity plea -- his experts are often the ones to make the declaration of insanity.
And, when the prosecutor's experts and the defendant's experts are at odds, the issue is decided by the judge or jury trying the case.
In this case, Ms. Adams said, there will be no dispute over the defendant's insanity. "We are bound by the opinion of our expert," she said. "We cannot, we will not challenge the findings."
All that is left is a determination of guilt or innocence, said Ms. Adams and Assistant Public Defender Brian Green, one of Mr. Fick's attorneys.
Neither would say whether a plea agreement is being negotiated.
"It would be inappropriate to comment at this time," Mr. Green said. He did, however, confirm Ms. Adams' summary of the psychiatric evaluation finding his client insane at the time of the slaying.
Although he has been found not criminally responsible, the Fick youth still could choose to have his case heard before a jury.
If a jury or a judge found him guilty, Mr. Fick would receive no prison sentence, Ms. Adams said.
"He would be committed to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for treatment and confinement from the rest of society," she said.
Once doctors there determine that he is no longer a danger to himself or to others, he will be released.
If found not guilty, he would be freed.
Mrs. Fick was Carroll's only homicide victim in 1994.