Double homicide trial canceled in Hagerstown; hearing set in insanity defense case
A Maryland Department of Health evaluation has found that a man charged with the 2022 murder of a woman and her 4-year-old daughter was suffering from a form of schizophrenia, according to proceedings Monday in Washington County Circuit Court.
A hearing has been scheduled for June 7, at which Javon Hines is expected to plead guilty in the murder case with the state prosecution stipulating to his insanity defense of not criminally responsible, according to the case hearing.
Hines, 23, of no fixed address, faces charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, for the Nov. 14, 2022, shooting deaths of Elise Wars and her daughter, Khori Ashton. The mother and daughter were found dead in a hotel room at the APM Inn & Suites, 431 Dual Highway, after two employees entered the room two days later, according to charging documents.
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A three-week jury trial in the double homicide case had been scheduled to begin Monday.
Instead Judge Joseph S. Michael set a hearing date for June 7 to resolve the case with the insanity defense.
The families of Wars, Ashton and Hines would have an opportunity to address the judge at the hearing, but also could submit written impact statements.
After a judge formally accepts a plea of not criminally responsible, an insanity defense in Maryland, a defendant is committed to the care of the state health department.
During Monday's hearing, Michael referenced the state medical report's diagnosis for Hines, which was a form of schizophrenia.
Washington County States Attorney Gina Cirincione cited the report, saying a doctor found Hines to be competent to stand trial, but not criminally responsible.
Competent to stand trial has to do with a defendant's ability to assist in his defense in court.
Not criminally responsible, in Maryland, is an insanity defense and has to do with the defendant's mental state at the time of the alleged offenses.
Mother and daughter found dead in local hotel
Both victims were found dead on Nov. 16, 2022, from single gunshot wounds, court records state. Authorities believe both were shot while lying in bed. There was no evidence of a struggle in the room and the room's door showed no signs of a break-in, court records state.
Two 9 mm shell casings were found on the room's floor, court records state.
Hagerstown Police, in a Facebook post that night, said they believed the killings were a "targeted and deliberate crime."
Family and friends told Hagerstown Police that Wars began dating a man named "Wic" a few weeks prior. When shown a photo of the man on social media, one of the police officers recognized Wic as Javon Hines through previous incidents involving Hines, court records state.
Surveillance footage in the hotel showed the two victims entering the hotel room with Hines at 6:49 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14, 2022 — the last time the two victims were seen alive, court records state.
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About two hours later, an unknown female enters the room and leaves about 10 minutes later, court records state. The woman appeared to be acting normal and there was no obvious disturbance at the time she left the room, police noted in the charging documents.
The next morning, Hines exited and re-entered the hotel room multiple times and was "acting suspicious when exiting the room," court records state.
The third time he left the room that day he was wearing a jacket and a mask on his face, and returned a few minutes later with a luggage cart he brought into the room.
According to court records, surveillance footage shows Hines leaving the room two minutes later at 8:06 a.m. with the luggage cart full of bins and bags. He also had a white robe in his hands and put it on the cart as he left.
No one else entered or left the room until the afternoon of Wednesday, Nov. 16, when the employees entered.
Hagerstown Police sought an arrest warrant for Hines, who was arrested in Elkton in northeast Maryland that Thursday afternoon with the help of other law enforcement agencies. Hines was taken into custody without incident.
District Public Defender Angela Oetting said after Monday's hearing that Hines has been held at the Washington County Detention Center.
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The state, last June, had filed a notice of intent to seek a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In October, Hines' public defenders entered pleas on his behalf of not guilty, not competent to stand trial and not criminally responsible in that Hines "suffered from a mental disorder and lacked substantial capacity to either appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law" at the time of the alleged crimes.
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Circuit Court Judge Brett R. Wilson, on Oct. 31, signed an order for the state health department to examine Hines for both issues — whether he was competent to stand trial and for the insanity defense.
On Monday, Michael asked the attorneys in the case if they knew why the mental health evaluation took so long.
Assistant Public Defender Robert Sheehan said there were a lot of records to get, including ones from other jurisdictions.
Deputy State's Attorney Sarah Mollett-Gaumer said she sent the doctor body cam footage and extensive police reports. Mollett-Gaumer also said that the doctor was busy and indicated it was "labor intensive."
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Insanity defense to move forward for Md. man in double homicide case
