By Erica Solvig
Enquirer staff writer

LEBANON - Rhonda Ricketts, who has been undergoing mental health treatment, is now competent to stand trial in the murder of her ex-husband, Warren County Common Pleas Judge Neal Bronson has ruled.

The court had earlier found that Ricketts, a 51-year-old Warren County woman charged with aggravated murder in the May 2003 shooting death, was not mentally competent.

But her physician and an independent consultant said treatment had been successful, officials said.

Bronson ruled Thursday that Ricketts understands the proceedings against her.

Doctors have requested that she stay at Summit Behavioral Center where she has been getting treatment, Warren County Prosecutor Rachel Hutzel said.

"We're glad that the case is going to proceed but obviously we would not have wanted to do anything that would have prevented her from getting a fair trial," Hutzel said Friday. "Our job is also to make sure that justice is done and justice can't be done if someone is unable to assist in their own defense."

Ricketts' attorney could not be reached for comment Friday.

Last year, a Dayton, Ohio, psychiatrist evaluated her and reported that Ricketts suffered from severe depression with "psychotic features."

Ricketts' ex-husband, 45-year-old Steve Ricketts, was killed May 13, 2003, at his Lebanon home. She claimed in a 911 call that she shot him after he had beat her. Prosecutors contended that she planned the slaying.

While no trial date has been set, Hutzel said it likely will start before the end of the year.

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E-mail esolvig@enquirer.com