MOUNT VERNON — The Knox County Prosecutor’s Office has filed charges in Knox County Juvenile Court against Brice Hay for aggravated murder in the stabbing death of his father, Kevin R. Hay.
“We have filed a motion to have this case bound over to common pleas court for prosecution as an adult,” Knox County Prosecutor Chip McConville said.
“With a murder case, it’s considered a mandatory bindover, meaning that if the juvenile court finds that there’s probable cause that he committed the acts, then it gets transferred to common pleas court general division for trial as an adult,” the prosecutor said.
McConville said the only other condition for mandatory bindover is the offender’s age.
“[Brice Hay] is almost 17 and a half years old, so he falls into that age category where it’s a mandatory transfer,” McConville said.
Mandatory bindover
Since 1996, Ohio law has required juvenile courts to automatically transfer juveniles to adult court if they have previously been convicted in adult court or if certain conditions are met.
Sixteen and 17-year-olds must be tried as adults if there is probable cause that they committed a Category 1 offense (aggravated murder, murder or the attempt to commit these crimes) or a Category 2 offense (such as voluntary and involuntary manslaughter, rape, aggravated robbery, kidnapping and other serious felonies) when they have had a prior conviction for those offenses or if a firearm was involved in the commission of the crime. Fourteen and 15-year-olds can also face mandatory bindover if there is probable cause that they committed a Category 1 offense and have a prior record of doing so.
Source: Ohio State Bar Association
The mandatory bindover process includes a probable cause hearing.
During the probable cause hearing, Juvenile Judge Jay Nixon will examine the evidence and determine whether there is sufficient credible evidence to proceed with prosecution.
The hearing has been set for Jan. 16.
The Knox County Sheriff’s Office received a report of an injured person at a King Road residence in Howard on Dec. 9 at approximately 6:16 p.m.
Deputies responded and discovered the victim, Kevin R. Hay, was deceased from apparent stab wounds.
Detectives from the Major Crimes Unit, with assistance from the Knox County Coroner’s Office and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), conducted an on-scene investigation.
Authorities arrested Brice Hay and transported him to the Muskingum County Juvenile Detention Center. He remains in the detention center.
The Licking County Coroner’s Office conducted an autopsy on Kevin Hay on Dec. 11.
McConville declined to provide autopsy reports because the case is ongoing.
