Man accused of keeping neighbour in pit to appear in court

WILMINGTON, Ohio – The attorney for an Ohio man accused of kidnapping a neighbour and keeping her trapped in a small pit plans to ask for a court-ordered mental health evaluation of the man.

Dennis Dunn is scheduled for a hearing on Thursday in Clinton County Municipal Court on a kidnapping charge. Defence attorney James Hartke says he believes Dunn suffers from an undiagnosed mental disorder and may not be competent to help with his defence.

Dunn was arrested April 26 when police found the woman after cries were heard from a shed behind Dunn’s home in Blanchester, about 40 miles (64 kilometres) northeast of Cincinnati.

Police found her in a pit inside the shed about two hours after she was reported missing. She was treated at a hospital and released.