Reports indicate that a Korean man accused of fatally stabbing his Indian-origin roommate at Purdue University in Indiana, USA, has been declared competent to stand trial.
Ji Min Sha, who faced murder charges in the October 2022 death of 20-year-old Varun Manish Chheda from Indianapolis, had previously been found unfit to stand trial by a Tippecanoe County judge in April.
In an April order, Judge Sean M Persin of Tippecanoe Circuit Court noted that Sha had reported experiencing hallucinations, chronic psychosis, and delusional thoughts while in jail.
A recent court filing from September 12 states that after months of treatment, doctors at Logansport State Hospital have now assessed Sha as competent to stand trial, as reported by WTHR, an Indianapolis television station.
The judge has instructed the Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Office to return Sha to the county jail. A status conference for the case has been scheduled for September 29.
Sha and Chheda were roommates in McCutcheon Hall on Purdue University's West Lafayette campus.
Prosecutors allege that Sha used a folding knife to stab Chheda multiple times in the head and neck. Officers discovered the knife on the floor near the chair where Chheda's body was found.Â
On October 5, 2022, Sha called the police, reporting his roommate's death in their dorm room, according to Purdue Police Chief Lesley Wiete. When officers arrested Sha, they observed blood-stained clothing on him. An autopsy revealed that Chheda had died from "multiple sharp-force traumatic injuries."
If convicted, Sha could face a prison sentence ranging from 45 to 60 years, according to WFIU, an Indiana-based public radio station.
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