Madden, 51, was scheduled to go to trial next month for murder and felonious assault, but the trial has been vacated and a psychological evaluation ordered by two judges — one assigned to the murder case and one presiding over the drug case.
The order to have Madden evaluated for competency to stand trial comes after his seemingly volatile conflicts with several defense attorneys.
In June, Madden was flanked by his fourth attorney in Butler County Common Pleas Court for a pretrial hearing where Judge Jennifer McElfresh set trial for Aug. 21. That date was later moved to Aug. 18.
He had a conflict with three previous attorneys, one he retained and two that were court appointed. Apparently those conflicts began when Madden wanted Brewsbaugh’s body exhumed and re-autopsied.
He lost the motion, which was denied by the judge, but McElfresh did approve funds for a defense pathology expert to review the findings.
Madden’s fourth attorney Keith Fricker filed to withdraw after a visit to see his client on July 10. Fricker said in the motion that Madden refused to speak with and cooperate with him.
“The defendant verbally stated that he no longer wants (Fricker) to represent him and no longer trusts (him),” that attorney said in the motion.
At the July 10 visit, Fricker said after refusing to speak with him, when exiting the interview room Madden “made a gesture” toward him.
Madden was booked into the Butler County Jail on a drug charge just hours after Brewsaugh was found stabbed to death on Oct, 11, 2022. He has remained behind bars in lieu of a $150,000 bond on the drug charge. The drug case pending before Butler County Common Pleas Judge Greg Stephens accuses Madden of being in possession of methamphetamine about a month before the fatal stabbing.
He is being held in the Butler County Jail in lieu of a $1 million bond on the murder charge.
Fricker asked McElfresh to consider lowering bond in June, noting he has family in town that he can live with and would agree to GPS monitoring and house arrest.
Assistant Prosecutor Brad Burress requested the bond remain the same, noting the seriousness of the crime and Madden’s previous felony convictions.
McElfresh declined to lower the bond and Stephens also did not lower bond in the drug case.
Brewsaugh, 50, was found dead inside the home in the 1200 block of Parrish Avenue. Assistant Butler County Prosecutor Brad Burress said in court documents that Dr. Russell Uptegrove, the pathologist who performed the autopsy for the Butler County Coroner’s Office, determined the woman died of multiple stab wounds.
Uptegrove found approximately 55 wounds to Brewsaugh’s head, chest and abdomen, including puncture wounds to the heart, according to court documents. Brewsaugh did not have any drugs in her system at the time of her death.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Brewsaugh was on the floor when Hamilton police officers responded to the house where neighbors and family members said she and Madden had recently moved in.
A next-door neighbor called 911, and the woman told the dispatchers a man came running out of his house screaming and said he thought his partner was dead in bed.
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