Trial date set in Amanda Deen case

The man accused of killing Amanda Deen has a trial date scheduled for Sept. 16. Fred Reer, 40, of Collins, is charged with felonies including murder, tampering with evidence, and abusing a corpse relating to the 2017 killing of Dean, 36, at a Wells Road property where she resided. Reer was indicted earlier this year, in February, after the Ohio Attorney General's office reopened an investigation into Dean's disappearance. The case was originally investigated by the Huron County Sheriff's Office, which closed the case in 2017 after Sheriff Todd Corbin said he spoke to a shelter director, who claimed Dean was safe. Reer was last in court on May 15 at which time his attorney, J. Anthony Rich, asked Judge James Conway for Reer to receive a mental health evaluation. "Counsel needs professional assurance that (Reer) is competent, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, and that he is able to assist counsel in his own defense before further hearings in this matter and further needs to be assured he understood right from wrong at the time of the alleged offenses occurred," Rich wrote in his motion. Rich could not be reached for comment, but a spokesperson at Huron County Common Pleas Court said the results of that evaluation have not yet been submitted back to the court. The results of that evaluation could change the scheduled trial date. In Ohio, if a person is deemed incompetent to stand trial, the court may commit the defendant to a facility for treatment, such as a state mental hospital or treatment center, or order outpatient treatment. The court may also authorize medication. The length of treatment depends on state law, but can be for months or years.