Murder suspect 'not a danger to himself'

SANDUSKY — The man who allegedly killed and sexually assaulted a 3-year-old girl in September will be transferred back to the Erie County Jail after undergoing a mental health evaluation. Devin S. O'Brien, 29, of the 4000 block of Venice Road (U.S. 6), was indicted in early October by an Erie County grand jury on the following charges: • Four counts of aggravated murder, each an unclassified felony • Two counts of rape, each a first-degree felony • One count of attempted rape, a second-degree felony • One count of kidnapping, a first-degree felony • One count of felonious assault, a second-degree felony • One count of strangulation, a second-degree felony • One count of tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony • One count of gross abuse of a corpse, a fifth-degree felony Case background Sandusky police arrested O'Brien after he allegedly made a phone call to police the evening of Sept. 12, reporting that he believed that his "girlfriend's daughter and dog have been taken," he reportedly told a dispatcher. O'Brien was arrested by Sandusky police a short time later after they had found the girl's body and booked him into the Erie County Jail the following day. An autopsy was conducted on the girl's body the following morning by the Lucas County Coroner's Office. The autopsy found that the child died as a result of strangulation and experienced blunt force trauma and sexual assault, Sandusky police Chief Jared Oliver previously told the Register. Authorities have not identified the victim, citing victim protection bill Marcy's Law. But in the form of online postings and a vigil hosted shortly after her death, others have identified the victim as Charlotte Willow Patterson. Mental evaluation On Oct. 24, Erie County Common Pleas Court Judge Tygh M. Tone ordered O'Brien to be transferred from the Erie County Jail to the Moritz Center at Twin Valley Behavioral Health in Columbus for an "evaluation and treatment" to determine if O'Brien was a danger to himself, according to court records. As of last Friday, Dr. Charles Forman of Central Ohio Behavioral Healthcare determined that O'Brien "is not a danger to himself and is not in need of mental health services at this time," according to court records. Due to the findings, the court ordered that the Erie County Sheriff's Office transport O'Brien back to the Erie County Jail on or before this Thursday, the court record states. Before being transferred to the mental health facility, O'Brien was being held at the Erie County Jail on a $1 million bond. As of Tuesday afternoon, no future court hearings have been scheduled for him in Erie County's common pleas court.