A Kentucky man facing the death penalty on a capital murder charge is competent to stand trial.

That was the gist of a report from Shawnee Forensics regarding John David Anderson, accused of murdering elderly Deering resident Arthur Boyer last summer.

During a pretrial conference Wednesday afternoon in Lawrence County Common Pleas Court, Judge Richard Walton accepted the report from Dr. David Malawista that stated Anderson understands the charges against him and is able to participate in his own defense.

“It doesn’t come as a surprise to us,” Lawrence County Prosecutor J.B. Collier Jr. said. “It was what we expected but this is a capital case and in capital cases you do need to be careful.”

Anderson’s mental evaluation was requested by his attorneys, William Eachus and Charles Knight. Knight said however that there still remains the question of insanity.

Although Anderson was found competent to stand trial, it is still possible for him to have suffered from a mental defect or disorder at the time of the incident and this defect or disorder could be an issue during the trial.

The two sides will return to court Friday, June 30, for another pretrial conference to consider several motions.

“We have filed a motion saying the confession deputies obtained is in violation of our client’s constitutional rights,” Knight said. “We have an issue regarding whether he understood he had the right to remain silent.”

That and several other motions will be taken up at 9:30 before Walton.

Jury selection in the murder trial will begin July 31, with opening arguments expected to commence a couple of weeks later. If he is found guilty of murdering Boyer, he could receive the death penalty for it. He remains in jail under a $5 million bond.

His is one of two recent death penalty cases in Lawrence County. Earlier this year, Ironton resident Roger K. Marshall escaped the death penalty when the jury in case could not decide on what punishment he should receive for his multi-count arson and murder conviction. He received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.