A new trial date has been set for a man accused of stabbing another man to death with a “Samurai sword.”
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Matthew McKnight’s jury trial will begin on December 9 and last until December 11, according to Darke County Court of Common Pleas records.
The initial trial, which was scheduled to take place in May, was delayed as McKnight underwent an independent competency evaluation.
He was found competent to stand trial, according to court documents.
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This was McKnight’s second competency exam. The first was conducted after he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in February.
He was found competent to stand trial after the first exam and the judge rejected his plea in March, court records show.
As previously reported by News Center 7, McKnight is accused of stabbing and killing 35-year-old Kyle Brown outside a Greenville apartment on Nov. 16, 2024.
>>RELATED: 35-year-old man stabbed, killed with ‘Samurai sword’ after asking man for cigarette
Brown was flown to a hospital in Dayton, where he later died.
Greenville police found McKnight near the scene and arrested him.
Neighbors previously described the incident as a nightmare because of a simple request for a cigarette.
“I didn’t have any, so he (Brown) went next door and that guy just took some kind of Samurai sword and stabbed him,” Greenville resident Sheila Horne said.
Greenville Police Chief Ryan Benge said the men knew each other.
Neighbors claimed McKnight appeared to have mental challenges.
“He pulled a knife on me before because I went over to ask for a cigarette, and I had to run. But he was very mentally ill and he’d sit up all through the night and yell and scream,” Horne said.
McKnight remains booked in the Darke County Jail.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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