BUCYRUS—Tessa Perry, 55, of Crestline appeared in Crawford County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday with her court-appointed attorney who updated the court on his search for an expert to evaluate Perry’s mental health.
Perry was originally charged with felonious assault, a second-degree felony punishable with up to 11 years in prison.
Perry allegedly became involved in an altercation at a residence and threw hot grease on two female victims. One victim survived and the other victim was hospitalized and died approximately two weeks after her release from the hospital.
After reviewing the autopsy report, Crawford County Prosecutor Matt Crall advanced the charges against Perry to murder with four lesser included charges.
Perry’s trial date had not been set because attorney Brad Starkey had trouble finding the appropriate expert to evaluate Perry.
Starkey told the court that he had secured an expert from Pennsylvania who met the budgetary requirements set forth by the court
Crawford County Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold accepted the defense’s recommendation. He ordered another pretrial to be set within 45 days to allow both the state and defense to review the expert’s final report.