Trending
A Williamsburg-area teenager who for no apparent reason allegedly stabbed a hospice nurse visiting his home last April will be tried for attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault in adult criminal court, according to a decision late last week by Blair County President Judge Elizabeth A. Doyle.
On Jan. 5, the judge presided over a hearing in which a clinical psychologist from Allentown and a forensic psychiatrist from Philadelphia presented opposing views as to whether 16-year-old Michael Douglas Watson of Stone Row Drive could be rehabilitated by the time he becomes 21, the age at which he would no longer be under the supervision of the
juvenile court.
Dr. Nancy Miller, the psychologist, testified for the defense that Watson's case should be decertified or removed from the adult criminal court and placed in the juvenile court where he would receive treatment for behavioral and possible neurological issues from which he suffers.
She feared placing him in an adult prison rather than a secure juvenile facility would have a negative impact on him.
Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Barbara Ziv, for the prosecution, countered Miller's argument, stating that Watson does not have a psychiatric condition that makes him amenable to treatment within the next four years.
Ziv testified that Watson suffers from intermittent explosive disorder, a condition that has no effective treatment. She explained there is no residential facility at the juvenile level that can treat the disorder or possible sociopathy from which Watson suffers.
She also stated that there is no evidence Watson has ever been motivated for treatment.
"He is motivated not to spend time in jail, which is understandable, but that is very different than being motivated for treatment," Ziv testified.
Judge Doyle, in her 16-page opinion, said she agreed with Miller and Molly Wink from Blair County's Juvenile Probation Office that the goal of the juvenile system is to provide treatment and rehabilitation for young offenders.
"However, we must also contemplate the adequacy of treatment of placing (Watson) in the juvenile system. ... Dr. Ziv explained there is no effective treatment for (Intermittent Explosive Disorder) and the treatment for IED is long-term.
"This calls into question whether the defendant would remain in the juvenile system long enough to receive adequate and effective treatment," Doyle concluded.
Watson was arrested by Pennsylvania State Police on the night of April 5, 2020, after a nurse who worked for UPMC's Family Hospice and Palliative Care agency reported that she fled from a home in the Williamsburg area after being stabbed by the grandson of the man she was tending.
After her visit to the home to provide treatment for the grandfather, who had fallen that day, Watson told her he would walk her to her car.
According to the evidence presented by the prosecution, Watson had placed an 18-inch sword outside the home, and as the nurse was about to get in her car, he struck her from the rear, then stabbed her in the neck with the weapon.
In dramatic testimony, she described how she screamed and prayed as the teen continued to stab her, and how she grabbed the blade of the sword, nearly severing a finger.
As he jerked the sword out of her hand she was able to push him away and get in her vehicle. She locked the door and began driving toward Williamsburg, using one hand to pinch her jugular vein in an attempt to stem the bleeding from her neck.
She was finally able to call 911 for help.
Judge Doyle said that the unprovoked attack will have a lasting effect on the victim, who during her testimony, said she continues to "see the attack. ... It never goes away."
In her opinion, the judge referred to Ziv's opinion that Watson's actions that night should not be minimized "as normal teenage behavior."
The testimony, Doyle continued, showed Watson had planned the attack ahead of time, concealing the sword outside and directing her to the place where he wanted to attack her, "as if he were leading her into a trap."
The defense, led by attorney Michael Emerick, had the burden of showing that Watson is amenable to treatment in the juvenile system.
Doyle said: "The court ... finds that the defendant has not met his burden of proof to support decertification to the juvenile court. We conclude that defendant's age, maturity and lack of prior delinquent history weigh in favor of finding the defendant amenable to treatment, as does the opinion of Dr. Miller and Ms. Wink.
"However, when we consider the opinion of Dr. Ziv, the vicious and unyielding quality of the alleged attack, the level of criminal sophistication the defendant exhibited in planning the attack and concealing the evidence ... and considering whether the child can be rehabilitated prior to the expiration of the juvenile court jurisdiction, we find the latter factors outweigh the former, and they weigh against finding defendant amenable to treatment," Doyle said.