Court orders mentally ill homicide suspect transferred to state mental hospital

Jan. 12--A mentally ill Scranton man charged with killing a city woman has been ordered to a state mental hospital to try to restore his competency to stand trial.

Joseph Thornton, 27, was charged in March with killing 29-year-old Stephanie Tyminski at her Valley View Terrace apartment. A psychiatric expert last month deemed Mr. Thornton incompetent to stand trial but said he is a good candidate to restore competency if he takes his medications.

Deputy District Attorney Gene Riccardo said Mr. Thornton has not been taking his medications while incarcerated at Lackawanna County Prison. Judge Margaret Bisignani Moyle on Friday ordered he be transferred to Norristown State Hospital, which has the authority to forcibly medicate him if he refuses, Mr. Riccardo said.

Mr. Thornton remained incarcerated at the county prison as of Monday. It's not clear when he will be transferred to Norristown, which has a roughly six-month waiting list, according to county prison officials.

Judge Moyle directed he be transferred as soon as a bed is available, given the seriousness of the charges against him. Mr. Riccardo said he's hopeful that will help speed up Mr. Thornton's admission.

"Norristown is aware of the seriousness of the charges. They are going to try to give him the next available bed," he said.

Mr. Thornton is charged with homicide and several other offenses in connection with the death of Ms. Tymin­ski, who was found in a bathtub in her apartment on Dec. 10, 2014. An autopsy showed she died from blunt-force trauma to her head and neck and that she may have been strangled.

Mr. Thornton, who was Ms. Tyminski's neighbor, quickly became a suspect after authorities found a blood trail leading into a common hallway between her apartment and his. Tests later performed on a dented baseball bat found in her apartment contained Mr. Thornton's and Ms. Tyminski's DNA.

Mr. Thornton has been in custody since about a week after Ms. Tyminski's death, when he was charged with witness intimidation for threatening to kill another neighbor if she spoke with police. Those charges led to a scuffle with police and additional charges of aggravated harassment by a prisoner. The prosecution of all charges is on hold as long as Mr. Thornton remains incapacitated.

Judge Moyle's order directs that Mr. Thornton be examined within 90 days and a report be issued to the court. If he is still deemed incompetent, he will be re-examined every 90 days, Mr. Riccardo said. If prosecutors or the defense disagree with the results of any of the reports, they can seek a hearing on the matter.

Attempts Monday to reach Mr. Thornton's attorney, James Elliott, were unsuccessful.

Contact the writer:

tbesecker@timesshamrock.com

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