The murder suspect, whose conviction was overturned, pleads not guilty, not guilty by reason of insanity

The video accompanying this story is from previous reporting.

CLERMONT COUNTY, Ohio (WXIX) — A murder suspect whose conviction in the stabbing death of his mother was overturned by an appeals court is pleading not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity, new court records show.

Joshua Amburgy, 41, returns to the Clermont County courtroom Wednesday at 1:15 p.m. for a plea or trial hearing.

His public defender filed court documents Tuesday claiming Amburgy is “now incompetent to stand trial” and asked the court to “order a psychiatric evaluation of his current mental state.”

Previous court records show his competency was questioned when the case originally went to trial, but he was ultimately found competent to stand trial.

His aggravated murder and aggravated assault convictions were overturned last month due to an experienced judge's error, court records show.

Since his conviction was overturned, his public defender wrote in court records that his previous pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity “should be automatically reinstated.” However, (Amburgy) hereby reaffirms in all caution his earlier pleas of not guilty and not guilty on grounds of reason…”

Ohio's 12th District Court of Appeals found that Clermont County Common Pleas Court Judge Victor Haddad failed to inform Amburgy of his constitutional rights during his hearing last year, according to a copy of his Oct. 7 ruling .

Amburgy pleaded guilty on Oct. 16, 2023, to aggravated murder and aggravated assault in the Nov. 1, 2022, stabbing death of his mother, Melissa Amburgy, 58, in the basement of their Miami Township home.

Judge Haddad, one of the most experienced judges in the Tri-State, sentenced him to 41 years in prison.

The appeals court overturned Amburgy's guilty pleas, which also overturned his conviction and sentence, and sent the case to Haddad's courtroom.

According to our news partner The Cincinnati Enquirer, the judge blamed his mistake on Joshua Amburgy's numerous outbursts in court, including on the day of his hearing.

Amburgy is being held without bail in the Clermont County Jail until the case is adjudicated.

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