Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
COLUMBIA CITY - Eugene Nowak of Pierceton will be examined by doctors before he goes on trial in the murder of Donald Sundheimer.
Nowak, 36, will have his mental status evaluated to determine whether an insanity defense can be used in Whitley Circuit Court. He is accused of beating Sundheimer to death in July. Sundheimer, 63, of Warsaw, was reported missing several days before his body was found in a Whitley County cornfield.
Nowak was scheduled to face a jury in the case on March 13, but this medical evaluation will delay the start of the trial to May 22.
Brad Voelz is Nowak's court-appointed attorney.
Nowak's girlfriend, Stephanie Smith of Pierceton, was sentenced in November to eight years in prison for assisting in Sundheimer's murder.
