LEBANON — A Mason man who was found insane in the killing of his ex-wife's new husband was sent back to a maximum-security psychiatric center Tuesday after prosecutors objected to a move that would allow him more freedom.

        Assistant Prosecutor James Beaton said he wants a second opinion on Jeffrey Bornhoeft's mental condition, prompting Judge P. Daniel Fedders to send the father of three back to Twin Valley Psychiatric System in Dayton for at least 45 more days while the case is reviewed.

        “We feel he should stay in maximum security. The Lewis Center is not maximum security, and we don't want to have to go out looking for him,” Mr. Beaton said. “Public safety dictates he stay where he is.”

        In a case that could have sent him to Ohio's Death Row, Mr. Bornhoeft, 31, was found not guilty by reason of insanity in November in the April 7 fatal shooting of Jamey Johnson, 23, of Lebanon. Mr. Johnson was shot three times point-blank in the head while he slept.

        Defense lawyers said the Johnsons, who kept separate apartments, hid their marriage and that Mr. Bornhoeft snapped when he found Mr. Johnson in his ex-wife's bed.

        Mr. Bornhoeft was sent to Twin Valley for at least six months of treatment, but Judge Fedders agreed to review the case in 90 days.

        A psychologist who evaluated Mr. Bornhoeft in recent weeks at Twin Valley said Mr. Bornhoeft still suffers from a depressive disorder but is responding to drug treatment and therapy.

        In a report presented to Judge Fedders Tuesday, Dr. Thomas O. Martin recommended Mr. Bornhoeft be sent to a less-restrictive psychiatric hospital such as the Pauline Warfield Lewis Center in Cincinnati.

        The report noted that Mr. Bornhoeft was moved six weeks ago to a four-bed “apartment” section at Twin Valley reserved for the “most behaviorally stable and responsible” patients.

        Mr. Bornhoeft, dressed in blue jeans and a sweat shirt, sat silently at the hearing in Warren County Common Pleas Court, staring wide-eyed at the floor. His parents, Joy and Jim Bornhoeft, watched the proceeding from the gallery, having prolonged their trip to the Tristate after a regular weekend visit with their son.

        Defense lawyer John Quinn said he'll fight to get Mr. Bornhoeft out of Twin Valley.

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