Some victims of a mass stabbing at Franklin Regional High School are expected to testify Monday when defendant Alex Hribal is scheduled to make his first appearance in a Westmoreland County courtroom since September.
The Murrysville teenager has been held in the county's juvenile detention center since his arrest in connection with the April 9, 2014, knife rampage, in which 20 students and a security guard were slashed and stabbed in a hallway just before the start of classes.
He is charged as an adult with 21 counts of attempted murder and aggravated assault as well as one weapons offense.
The hearing is a crucial step for the 17-year-old, as Judge Chris Feliciani will be asked to decide if he can be prosecuted as a juvenile. The decision could mean that Hribal would be kept in custody for only three more years.
“It's very important,” said Hribal's lawyer, Pat Thomassey. “At a certain point, we need to determine if he is to be treated in the juvenile system for his mental illness or the adult system. He should be in the juvenile system. He was only 16 when it happened, and a very immature 16, quite frankly.”
Hribal's 18th birthday is in the fall.
District Attorney John Peck said some of Hribal's victims are expected to testify at the hearing.
“Age is an important factor,” Peck said. “But another factor weighed is the violence that was committed.”
If his case is transferred to juvenile court, Hribal can't be kept in court custody beyond his 21st birthday. Convictions in adult court for attempted murder and aggravated assault could net him up to 20 years in prison for each offense.
Defense attorney Brian Aston, who is not part of Hribal's case, said a move to juvenile court should be the primary focus of Hribal's defense team at this stage of the case.
“It's probably the most important stage of the entire case,” Aston said. “Adult court is based on punishment and how long a person charged with these crimes can be incarcerated. In juvenile court, the goal is treatment and less toward punishment.”
To that end, the defense is expected to present at least four expert witnesses to talk about Hribal's mental health — he has been diagnosed as schizophrenic and depressed — and his amenability to treatment, Thomassey said.
During a court hearing in September, two defense expert testified that Hribal struggled with assimilating with other students in the school and that he admired the actions of two students involved in the 1999 Columbine school shooting in Colorado.
Since his arrest, Hribal's family and his defense lawyer have sought mental health treatment for him.
After a four-hour hearing in September, Feliciani ordered Hribal to receive in-patient mental health treatment. But when no facility could be found to accept Hribal, Feliciani ordered that the teen receive treatment from doctors who visited the juvenile detention center.
Thomassey said Hribal has responded to the treatment.
“He's doing a lot better. He needed proper treatment, and he's getting it,” Thomassey said.
Rich Cholodofsky is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-830-6293 or rcholodofsky@tribweb.com.
