A Beach Park man charged with with murder in the alleged stabbing of his father with a pair of garden shears has been found fit for trial.
George W. Bryce was restored to fitness for trial Tuesday, and on Wednesday he pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder in the death of his father, 70-year-old Warren Bryce, whom authorities said died after being stabbed with garden shears by his son on the afternoon of July 18.
Defense attorney John Radosevich had requested a fitness evaluation in August for Bryce, a request granted by Lake County Circuit Judge Patricia Fix with no objection from prosecutors. Radosevich told Fix he had “bona fide doubt” as to his client’s fitness for trial.
He made the request prior to Bryce’s arraignment on the charges.
After a period of evaluation and treatment, Bryce appeared before Judge Christopher Stride Tuesday, and was found restored to fitness. He was then arraigned Wednesday morning, entering not guilty pleas.
The case will now return to Fix’s courtroom, with a case management scheduled Dec. 20 and a trial schedule April 20, according to the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office dispatched sheriff’s deputies to the Peacock Road home at about 3:05 p.m. on July 18 after receiving a call of a domestic battery in progress.
According to a release from the sheriff’s office, deputies found a 70-year-old man “with multiple sharp-force injuries laying on the floor,” and began administering aid before the man was transported to Vista East Medical Center with what authorities described as critical injuries.
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He died the next day.
The younger Bryce, 21, was taken into custody, and further investigation revealed George Bryce and his father were involved in a domestic-related incident, and during the incident George Bryce attacked his father with a pair of garden shears, according to the sheriff’s release.
Bryce has remained in custody of the Lake County jail with bail set at $2 million since his release.