Suspect in group home homicide arraigned
Aimee AmbroseA Franklin Township man charged in the Christmastime 2020 death of a mental health group home worker in Hanover is moving toward a trial.
Patrick Guyer, 26, was arraigned into the York County Court of Common Pleas on Jan. 17. The process came after his case advanced out of a district court last month, which was almost two years to the day after he was charged.
Guyer faces counts of first- and third-degree murder and burglary.
He’s accused of stabbing 59-year-old Arthur Stanley, of Penn Township, multiple times with a kitchen knife, killing him in an office at a TrueNorth Wellness Services group home in the 300 block of High Street in the early morning of Dec. 24, 2020.
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Hanover Borough police said a witness found the staff office door was forced open, and they saw a gun on a door mat. Police arrested Guyer that day.
In an interview with investigators, he allegedly told police he was driven to the stabbing because staff at the home bullied him when he was a resident in the past. He allegedly stated he would’ve killed any staff member he found in the office that morning.
Police alleged he told them where the weapon was, and they found what was reported as a blood-covered knife in the basement of his home in Franklin Township.
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Investigators also learned Guyer had filed a police report about a week before the incident where he accused a facility employee of sexually abusing his ex-girlfriend while she was a resident at the home.
The two apparently broke up over his beliefs the woman was in a sexual relationship with an employee, according to charging documents. Police said Guyer called the woman a few days after he made his report, and he allegedly threatened to stab her in a voicemail.
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During his arraignment last week, Guyer’s attorney, Diana Spurlin, told the court a petition for a mental competency evaluation was still outstanding. But she expected a doctor to find Guyer competent to stand trial; that he understands the charges against him and the proceedings.
Judge Harry Ness scheduled the next hearing in the case for April 3. However, court documents for the case don’t list the hearing date as coming up.
— Reach Aimee Ambrose at aambrose@yorkdispatch.com or on Twitter at @aimee_TYD.
