LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — An insanity defense is planned for a
man charged with killing a fellow Purdue University student in a campus
classroom, his attorney said Thursday after a judge approved a mental
evaluation for the man.
Cody Cousins’ attorney, Kirk Freeman, was
granted his request for Tippecanoe Superior Court to pay for a mental
evaluation for his client. Judge Thomas Busch interpreted the request as
a step toward raising an insanity defense, which Freeman confirmed was
his intent.
"He treated it as if it was an insanity (defense) even
though I haven’t asked for it yet," Freeman told the Journal &
Courier (http://on.jconline.com/1iPRXvE ) after the
hearing.
The
23-year-old Cousins, who is from Warsaw, told the judge last week he
was prescribed medicine after his arrest to control his moods and treat
schizophrenia. Cousins at that time also requested and received a new
attorney in Freeman, who is a public defender.
Cousins is accused
of fatally shooting and stabbing 21-year-old Andrew Boldt of West Bend,
Wisconsin, in January inside a classroom on the West Lafayette campus.
Busch
ordered Wabash Valley Alliance, a mental health agency, to provide a
psychiatrist and one other expert to evaluate Cousins. Because of the
high-profile nature of the case, Busch also will ask for a third expert
to evaluate Cousins. If Cousins refuses to cooperate with the experts,
an insanity defense would not be allowed, Busch said during the hearing.
Cousins’
previous attorney had hinted that he intended to raise an insanity
defense, but the paperwork was never filed, Busch said during the
hearing.
Freeman also has requested a change of venue.