Montco wants accused killer of 3 back in prison

Montgomery County prosecutors are seeking the return to prison of an Upper Merion man hospitalized for mental-health treatment after his arrest in the stabbing deaths of his parents and twin brother in March.

Joseph McAndrew Jr., 24, is charged with first- and third-degree murder and related offenses in the March 5 slayings of Joseph McAndrew, 70; Susan McAndrew, 64; and James McAndrew, 23, in Upper Merion Township.

Assistant District Attorney Tracey Potere filed a petition Friday seeking to have McAndrew transferred from Norristown State Hospital to the county prison. Potere said McAndrew had been found competent to stand trial and no longer needed "intensive psychiatric treatment."

McAndrew was held at the prison without bail following his arrest, but attorneys said he was uncommunicative and unable to help with his defense. He was transferred to the forensics unit of the state hospital April 20. Hospital officials said in August that he had become competent to stand trial, and they repeated that assessment in a report this month. McAndrew's arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 20. - AP