Insanity claim to be explored for Penn Township man accused of killing father, aunt

The lawyer for a Penn Township man charged in the murders of his father and aunt in 2021 told a Westmoreland County judge he will explore a potential insanity defense for his client.

Defense attorney Brian Aston said an investigation is underway to determine if there is enough evidence for a jury to find Neal Hubish, 43, not guilty by reason of insanity.

Hubish is awaiting trial on two counts of criminal homicide. He is accused of killing his father, Arthur Hubish, 71, and aunt Maria Puskarich, 76, inside his father’s Burrell Hill Road home on Nov. 9, 2021.

Hubish told police he awoke upon hearing his relatives arguing and found them “lying in a pool of blood” inside a hallway, according to court records. He later admitted to police he repeatedly stabbed them, prosecutors said.

Aston said there is evidence mental health issues long have been the cause of Hubish’s involvement in multiple violent crimes. He said he believes Hubish’s ongoing psychiatric conditions will be a factor in the current case.

“We will call some of our older assistant district attorneys who have dealt with Neal in the past to testify,” Aston said.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio said the defense can hire a private psychiatrist to evaluate if Hubish can be found guilty but mentally ill or if it can be argued he should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.

The judge on Thursday ruled Hubish is competent to stand trial.

Hubish has shuttled between the Westmoreland County Prison and Torrance State Hospital over the past two years since his arrest. In July, the judge ruled Hubish was not competent for trial, but that finding was rescinded Thursday.

A doctor testified Hubish’s mental state has improved since summer and that he can now assist with his defense. He will remain at Torrance until his trial, which has yet to be scheduled, the judge said.

Hubish’s mental health was an issue in previous criminal prosecutions.

He was sentenced to nearly two years in prison for holding his mother captive after she picked him up from jail upon his parole on unrelated charges in 2016, according to court records.

He also was charged in 2019 with assaulting his father and, a year later, was arrested on allegations he attacked a police officer who was taking him into custody on a mental health warrant.

Hubish was convicted and sentenced to serve up to 23 months in jail in the 2019 and 2020 cases.

In addition to the alleged murders, Hubish is awaiting trial on charges that he assaulted a guard at Westmoreland County jail.