North College Hill man accused of fatally stabbing his mother seeks insanity defense

A psychologist who examined a mentally ill man accused of fatally stabbing his mother in their apartment was not able to give an opinion about whether the man can use an insanity defense at trial.

The report by a Hamilton County Court Clinic Forensic Services psychologist was briefly summarized at a hearing Thursday for 26-year-old T'ontae Farley.

Attorneys for Farley are seeking to use a not guilty by reason of insanity defense at trial. That finding involves whether Farley knew right from wrong when prosecutors say he stabbed his mother, Vanessa Quarles, multiple times on Dec. 19, 2021, in their North College Hill apartment.

His attorneys can't argue that unless a mental health professional finds that Farley meets the criteria for an insanity defense.

Emily Davis, the psychologist whose report was described Thursday, was not able to give an opinion with "a reasonable degree of psychological certainty," Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Wende Cross said during the hearing.

An attorney for Farley, Hugh McCloskey, said during Thursday's hearing that they will retain their own expert who will evaluate him.

Farley was charged with murder the same day he is accused of killing his mother. Two months later, he was deemed not competent for trial, meaning he couldn't understand the nature of the charges against him and assist in his own defense.

But after undergoing treatment at a state psychiatric hospital, he was deemed competent for trial. Then in January of this year, McCloskey filed documents that said Farley "may have decompensated" and again was not competent.

Also in January, McCloskey filed documents saying Farley was pleading not guilty by reason of insanity.

In a 911 call shortly before Quarles was fatally stabbed, Quarles said where she lived and asked police to hurry. She said she was hiding in her bedroom.

"My son is sick," she said. "He has mental illness. He has a knife."

By the time police arrived, she had been fatally stabbed.

Farley is charged with murder and is being held at Summit Behavioral Healthcare, a psychiatric hospital in Roselawn. Both he and McCloskey appeared for Thursday's hearing by video.