Patrick Hurd let out a quiet "Amen" and then audibly thanked a Ramsey County district court judge who decided Wednesday not to release the 17-year-old boy charged with fatally stabbing his daughter, Anna Hurd.
Anthony J. Mitchell Jr.'s public defender, Susan Scarborough, asked Judge Gail Chang Bohr to release the teen to his parents as the court conducts a psychiatric evaluation and a study to determine whether Mitchell should be tried as an adult.
"He has never been in trouble," Scarborough said. "He's in [the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps]. He's a good student."
Hurd's brother shook his head incredulously as Mitchell's parents sat quietly at the attorney's table with their son and Scarborough. Hurd's father, his girlfriend and Hurd's grandfather attended the standing room-only hearing.
Mitchell is charged with two counts of second-degree murder for allegedly stabbing Anna Hurd to death Feb. 23 over arguments about her leaving Minnesota and moving to Texas. Mitchell returned to his mother's house "hysterical" with blood on his hands early that morning, the charges said. He told his mother he found Hurd beaten and not breathing, and later gave differing accounts of how he found her body, the complaint said.
Bohr was quick with her response: "The court's going to hold you here, alright?"
"Amen," Patrick Hurd said. "Thank you, your honor."
Prosecutors are seeking to certify Mitchell as an adult in the case. His adult certification hearing is set for April 3.
