The Associated Press

COLUMBUS - Attorneys for the man charged in a series of highway shootings around central Ohio are asking for state money to hire mental-health professionals and a private investigator to aid his defense.

Charles McCoy is indigent and needs money so psychiatrists can treat him, determine his ability to stand trial and decide whether he can plead not guilty by reason of insanity, according to court documents.

His attorneys said McCoy was diagnosed in 1996 with paranoid schizophrenia and he was declared disabled because of it a year later.

"Since Mr. McCoy was taken into custody, he has received medication and/or treatment for his illness, and has been placed on suicide watch," according to papers filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. "Regardless of Mr. McCoy's innocence or alleged guilt, he has suffered and continues to suffer significant mental illness."

McCoy, 28, has pleaded not guilty to a 24-count indictment including the fatal November shooting of a 62-year-old woman. She was the only person killed in the attacks, which occurred mostly near Interstate 270 on the city's south side. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

The filing said a private investigator is needed because of the numerous witnesses to interview and information to review from the months-long manhunt.

Although his attorneys - Andrew Haney, Mark Collins and Michael Miller - were hired and paid for by his mother, McCoy is indigent and still eligible for state-provided "investigation services, experts or other services reasonably necessary for proper representation and defense," according to the filing.

Two affidavits signed by McCoy and his mother said that McCoy received only $430 per month from Social Security benefits before his arrest.