Judge: Gibson trial will remain in Floyd County

NEW ALBANY, Ind. (AP) - A southeastern Indiana judge ruled Friday that jurors from another county about 100 miles away will be brought in to Floyd County for the first trial of a New Albany man accused of killing three women.

Floyd Superior Court Judge Susan Orth said jurors from Dearborn County will be brought in to hear the murder trial of William Clyde Gibson, The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Ky., reports. The court had considered moving the trial to another site.

Orth also scheduled a competency hearing for Oct. 12. A psychiatrist and psychologist both recently submitted reports that said Gibson was competent to stand trial.

Gibson is scheduled to go on trial Feb. 18 in the death of Christine Whitis, whom he is accused of strangling. The 75-year-old was a longtime family friend whose strangled and mutilated body was found in Gibson's garage in New Albany on April 19.

He also is accused of strangling Stephanie Kirk, 35, of Charlestown, whose remains were found buried in his backyard last spring. Prosecutors also allege that Gibson stabbed Karen Hodella, 44, of Port Orange, Fla., in October 2002. Her body was found three months later near the Ohio River in Clarksville.

Orth has granted a request from Gibson's public defenders for a protective order prohibiting him from having contact with law enforcement, the media and the public until he has undergone a mental evaluation and a competency hearing is held.

The restraining order was intended to prevent Gibson from saying things that would incriminate him. He previously wrote in a letter to The Courier-Journal that he is guilty of the killings and willing to admit it in court.

Gibson is being held at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility.