A Fauquier County grand jury Monday indicted an Amissville woman for the murder of her estranged husband.

Judy Kay Deal

Judy Kay Deal, 57, remains in the regional jail at Winchester.

“The defendant shot and killed her husband and then turned the gun on herself, sending a bullet through her brain,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Fisher told the circuit court judge in an afternoon hearing.

“She survived the attempted suicide, but the result of the wound left her with a traumatic brain injury from which she has progressed enough to be released from the hospital,” Mr. Fisher said. “We are now at the point where we need to have a professional conduct an evaluation to determine if she has regained enough cognitive ability to be deemed competent to stand trial for the murder of her husband.”

The court ordered Mrs. Deal held in lieu of a $25,000 bond. If she or her family posts a bond, the defendant would be fitted with an electronic monitoring bracelet to track her whereabouts.

Sheriff’s deputies responding to a 9-1-1 call on Nov. 20 found John Michael Deal, 60, of Hume, dead from apparent gunshot wounds in his home near Orlean.

They also found Mrs. Deal, wounded but responsive to medics. They took her to Inova Fairfax Hospital. The hospital released her Dec. 30.

In Virginia, a criminal suspect is presumed to be fully sane and competent to stand trial unless “legitimate psychological evidence” proves otherwise, Mr. Fisher said.

Most cases include an examination concerning mental health disorders, but Mrs. Deal’s case will involve a medical aspect because of extensive brain damage from her self-inflicted gunshot wound, the prosecutor added.

“Based on the progression of her recovery, we are at the point where the case had to be pursued within the court system,” Mr. Fisher told the court Monday. “We will now try to find an appropriate medical expert who can determine whether she is competent to stand trial. The legal standard for such a determination is simply whether she understands the charges against her and can assist her attorney in her defense.”

Mr. and Mrs. Deal were separated at the time of the shooting, according to authories. She was visiting the home at 11784 Crest Hill Road.

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