Man charged with killing Central KY couple now accused of punching jail guard
The man charged with killing a well-known Richmond couple in 2021 is now charged with punching a Madison County corrections officer in the face.
Thomas Birl, 56, is accused of attacking the officer in November and giving her a concussion when she entered his cell to check on him.
He appeared Wednesday in Madison District Court on for a felony charge of third-degree assault of a corrections officer.
Birl has been in prison since Aug. 3, 2021, after he was charged with shooting and killing Christopher and Gracie Hager outside a condominium they owned on Keystone Drive in Richmond.
Birl, a Cadiz native, was charged with two counts of murder, arson, evidence tampering and stolen property. Prosecutors say he set the condo on fire after killing the couple.
He was arrested in 2021 after an hourslong standoff with police.
Birl’s assault charge was sent to the grand jury Wednesday.
For his original murder charges, Circuit Judge Cole Adams Maier raised concerns about Birl’s mental competency, according to a Nov. 4 order.
“Upon reviewing the jail records, the Court observed certain behaviors, including refusal to take medication persisting over several months and recent documentation of erratic behavior, which might indicate impaired judgment or difficulty cooperating or understanding directions,” Maier wrote. “The review of the records raised sufficient concern about the defendant’s mental health and competency.”
Maier ordered Birl to have a psychiatric evaluation performed by the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center.
