Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 21, 1994 TAG: 9403210090
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS, PA. LENGTH: Medium
And so the community would do little for Edward Gingerich but pray after he was arrested for killing his wife. Although a lawyer plans an insanity defense, neighbor Kim Kerstetter said that Gingerich probably feels in his heart he, too, can do little.
"He's likely to throw himself on the mercy of the court," Kerstetter said of Gingerich, who goes on trial today.
Gingerich, who has a history of mental problems, was arrested March 18, 1993, as he was walking down a country road carrying his 3-year-old daughter and leading his 4-year-old son by the hand.
Behind him, in his Rockdale Township farmhouse, lay the body of his wife, Katie, beaten to death and gutted like a deer.
Defense lawyer Donald Lewis and Assistant District Attorney J. Wesley Rowden would not respond to repeated requests for interviews.
To back up the insanity plea, the defense is expected to argue Gingerich was affected by fumes he inhaled accidentally. The workroom where he used solvents was not ventilated, neighbors said.
A successful insanity defense is rare because a jury must be convinced the defendant was so insane he didn't know what he was doing, said John Burkoff, a University of Pittsburgh law professor.
But Gingerich's religious background could work in his favor, Burkoff said.
"It's counterintuitive to think of the Amish as violent, and so the defense will have that going for it," he said.
by CNB