More than a year after a 78 year old man was found dead in his home, the Lancaster County Attorney’s Office on Friday said no charges will be filed in the case. Gene Oltman was found beaten to death in the home in the 1600 block of SW 40th Street around 8 a.m. on July 11, 2022.
During the investigation Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner said it was determined the cause of death was blunt force trauma and the case was ruled a homicide. Wagner also said Oltman’s 68 year old wife was in the home at the time and was taken to a hospital with an unrelated medical condition.
On Friday Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon said the investigation is now complete. “I have reviewed the investigation with Sheriff Wagner and his team into Mr. Oltman’s tragic death.” Condon says there is probable cause to arrest a person of interest. “However, due to circumstances outside of law enforcement and the prosecution’s control, criminal charges will not be filed and
therefore no warrant for the arrest of the person of interest will occur.”
Condon says his office reviewed the medical records of the person of interest, including psychiatric records both prior to and after Mr. Oltman’s death, including a recent competency evaluation completed by a forensic psychiatrist, a medical doctor who specializes in the application of the criminal law and the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of mental illness.
“The forensic psychiatrist’s findings were consistent with previous medical professionals and concluded that the person of interest is not competent to stand trial and would not be able to be restored to competency in the future. With this finding, the Lancaster County Attorney’s Office does not feel it can ethically proceed with filing charges in this case.”