Alleged Amissville shooter to receive six more months of mental rehab

Thursday, Dec. 13 | By Mark Grandstaff

An Amissville woman charged last November with shooting and killing her husband before shooting herself got another six months of rehabilitation in Fauquier County Circuit Court Tuesday.

Judge Jeffrey W. Parker ruled for Judy Kay Deal, 58, to continue her mental rehabilitation until June 11, 2013, when the court will review her final evaluation before deciding whether Deal can stand trial.

On Nov. 20, 2011, Deal allegedly shot her estranged husband, John M. Deal, 60, in the torso at his home on Crest Hill Road, according to a search warrant. The shot came after a heated argument between the two.

Deal then allegedly turned the gun on herself, shooting herself in the head.

At an April 10 hearing, a circuit judge determined Deal was not competent to stand trial. In the months since, she has undergone mental rehabilitation at Fauquier Health Outpatient Rehabilitation Services and Prince William Neuroscience Center.

Deal faces charges of first-degree murder and using a firearm in commission of a felony. Fauquier Detective Mark Jones last November said the sheriff's office investigated the shooting as "a possible murder-suicide scenario."

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