AUBURN, Ala. (AP) _ A man accused of killing an Auburn University freshman has been faking hallucinations in jail and is fit to stand trial on an unrelated robbery charge, a psychological exam has determined.
Courtney Lockhart, 23, of Smiths Station, has pleaded not guilty in the March 4 slaying of 18-year-old Lauren Burk of Marietta, Ga. He also faces several robbery charges.
A Russell County Circuit Court judge in April ordered the psychological evaluation to determine whether Lockhart was competent to stand trial for a Feb. 29 armed robbery in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Glen D. King, a Montgomery psychologist who performed the exam, determined Lockhart is "not suffering from a serious mental illness or mental defect" and said his claims of auditory and visual hallucinations aren't credible. He recommended the court find Lockhart competent to stand trial in the robbery.
Last month, a Lee County Circuit Court judge ordered a separate mental evaluation to determine if Lockhart should stand trial for both the robbery and Burk's slaying. The court ordered the results of that evaluation sealed. Legal proceedings in the case have been postponed pending the outcome of the second evaluation.
Lee County District Attorney Nick Abbett was traveling and unavailable for comment to The Birmingham News for its Tuesday story, and the paper's efforts to reach an attorney representing Lockhart were not successful. The court has issued a gag order barring parties to the case from discussing it.
According to court records, Lockhart confessed to police that he abducted Burk on campus, robbed her, then drove her off campus and shot her. Passers-by found her on a highway several miles north of campus and she died a short time later. Lockhart told police he returned her car to campus and set it on fire.
Lockhart's attorneys have filed paperwork indicating they may pursue an insanity defense. He faces three counts of capital murder because Burk's death occurred during the commission of a robbery, a kidnapping and an attempted rape.
The court-ordered psychological evaluation included new details about Lockhart's history, including that he regularly uses marijuana, has seen his father "only three times in his entire life," and has a 2-year-old daughter.
Lockhart graduated from Smiths Station High School before serving three years in the Army, attaining the rank of specialist. His rank was reduced to private because of charges of marijuana possession and assault on another soldier. He served six months in Korea and one year in Iraq, in combat.
After being discharged in 2005, he worked for a year in construction as a heavy equipment operator. He was arrested twice for DUI, the report indicated.
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