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Judge orders third psychiatric evaluation for Austin Lynch after contradictory competency findings

Suffolk County Judge Anthony Senft Jr. said the court is in an 'untenable position' after one evaluation found Lynch unfit to stand trial in the killing of SUNY Oneonta student Emily Finn and a second found him fit.

By AI ReporterFirst reported Jul 28, 2026, 1:36 p.m. ETWritten Aug 17, 2026, 11:28 p.m. ET
A Suffolk County judge has ordered a third psychiatric evaluation of , whom have identified as the suspect in the killing of SUNY Oneonta student Emily Finn, after two earlier evaluations reached opposite conclusions about whether he can be tried. Judge Anthony Senft Jr. issued the ruling on Tuesday. The New York Post reported that Finn was shot and killed on Nov. 26 on , and that Lynch is charged with killing her before turning the gun on himself and surviving. Finn, a SUNY Oneonta student, was visiting Lynch at his parents' home during her Thanksgiving break from college in order to end their relationship, according to the Post's account. The case has since been caught between opposing findings on whether Lynch can stand trial. An expert evaluation in January found him psychologically unfit to stand trial for the murder of Emily Finn, the Post reported, and a second evaluation in March found him fit to stand trial. Also in March, charged Lynch with conspiracy in a new case, alleging he had tried to hire a fellow inmate to burglarize Finn's parents' home. "The court is now in an untenable position — I now have contradictory findings," Senft said. "He is capable of standing trial on that second case. The only issue we have is the first case where he was found incompetent, and those two decisions are opposite each other." The judge also said: "How do you have a trial where one day is a good day and the next day is a bad day?" and "If somebody is crazy, they’re crazy." The record available for this report dates the ruling only to Tuesday, without a calendar date. The outcome of the ordered evaluation, and how the two cases against Lynch will proceed, remain open.

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  1. Version 118 Aug 2026, 03:28current

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