Judge Sets Oct. 27 Competency Hearing in Torilena Fields Murder Case
The hearing was scheduled after a state psychiatrist found her fit to stand trial, with the defense seeking its own evaluation.
Overview
- Fields appeared in a Harrison County courtroom on Monday for a pretrial session where the judge set a competency hearing for Oct. 27 at 11 a.m.
- The competency hearing will feature brief testimony from doctors who evaluated Fields, after which the judge will rule on her ability to stand trial.
- A Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center doctor previously concluded in July that Fields is competent, while the defense has pursued an independent assessment.
- Fields faces charges including murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, torture of a dog, and obstructing government operations.
- The indictment alleges the killing occurred Oct. 8–9, 2024, with disturbing post-mortem conduct reported by police and local media, and the defense has said limited resources are slowing forensic analysis.