Witnesses testified that Salem shot Magill as he parked his car in Mogie’s car park, having arrived to open the restaurant that morning
The case against Nathan Salem in the fatal shooting last year of David Magill, the owner of Mogie’s Irish Pub in Lower Burrell has now been postponed indefinitely.
“He has lost touch with reality,” testified Dr Robert Wettstein, a psychologist hired by Salem’s defense.
Wettstein testified that he met three times with Salem at the county jail and diagnosed him as having an unspecified psychotic disorder that requires treatment in a mental health facility.
Salem, he said, suffers from delusions and hallucinations.
Salem (45) was held at the Westmoreland County Prison without bond on December 21 after he was charged with criminal homicide and the first-degree murder of David “Mogie” Magill.
The 64-year-old owner of the bar and restaurant on Leechburg Road was gunned down outside the business.
At a preliminary hearing in February witnesses testified that Salem shot Magill as he parked his car in Mogie’s car park, having arrived to open the restaurant that morning.
Police said multiple people witnessed the shooting, which was also captured on video.
According to court records, Salem told police he shot Magill because he believed he was a “drug-dealing paedophile”.
Police said Salem didn’t offer any evidence to support his claims while Magill’s family members denied Salem’s allegations.
According to local media reports, Eric Schwartz, a deputy warden of treatment at Westmoreland County Prison, testified Salem spent five days on suicide watch immediately after his arrest.
Since February, he has been confined alone to a cell under administrative custody over safety concerns, according to a report on TribLive.
Schwartz said Salem has complained that guards and jail staff are reading his mind and broadcasting his thoughts over the facility’s speakers.
He also suggested it rains in his cell, which he believes is a gas chamber. Schwartz testified Salem has expressed homicidal ideologies.
Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Scott Mears ordered Salem to be transferred to Torrance State Hospital in Derry for treatment “to restore his competency that eventually could allow for the case against him to proceed”, the report adds.
Officials have reportedly said it could be up to three months before a bed at the hospital is available for Salem.
Officials say that they plan to reevaluate Salem again in a couple of months.
Until then, he will remain at the county jail and receive treatment in the county lockup, the judge said.
Meanwhile, Mogie’s Irish Pub reopened on January 29, with Magill’s two kids taking over the business, according to CNN.
They said they are focused on honouring their dad’s legacy.
