Former Lehigh student Timothy Granata, who is accused of murdering his mother in their Orange, Connecticut home on July 24, faced a psychiatric examination on Aug. 5 as part of the crime’s investigation.
In Granata’s case, “there clearly are mental health issues involved,” Hugh F. Keefe, Granata’s attorney, told reporters on the morning of Aug. 5. Psychiatrists were en route to the Milford, Connecticut courthouse at the time, according to the New Haven Register.
Judge Frank Iannotti presided over the hearing, according to NBC Connecticut. Iannotti granted the defense’s motion to waive the probable cause hearing in order to “get some evaluation done on (Granata),” Keefe said.
Since then, Granata has reportedly been on suicide watch at the Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown, Connecticut, the Register reported. The facility offers care and treatment for adult male offenders with significant mental health issues, the Connecticut Department of Correction stated.
Iannotti has since left the case, as he has personal connections to the Granata family, according to the Register. Judge John J. Ronan will be presiding for the remainder of the case.
Soon after police responded to the reported homicide on July 24, Granata, 22, was found wandering the street a short distance from the family’s home. He quickly and willingly submitted to his ensuing arrest, Orange police Chief Robert Gagne said.
At the time of the arrest, Granata allegedly had blood on his clothing, carried a cell phone and a bible, and told police that he “killed (his mother)” and “stabbed her.”
Claudia Granata, 58, was found in a room inside the family’s home and pronounced dead on the scene by paramedics. The cause of death was ruled to be “blunt impact and sharp forced injury of the head, neck, torso and extremities,” Gagne said in a press conference on July 25.
Granata’s bail is currently set at $2 million. He will next appear before a judge on Sept. 18.
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