The attorney for a former Hocking College student accused of murder is pushing for potential evidence to be disregarded.

Ronald Hendrickson II, 22, was charged with aggravated murder in April, after allegedly stabbing ex-girlfriend Jodi Blankenship in the neck and abdomen and sustaining injuries himself.

The student’s lawyer, Victor Hodge of Dayton, continued to protest whether the student’s alleged refusal to answer questions about his injuries and his diary entries should be admitted as evidence, according to a memo filed Monday in the Athens County Court of Common Pleas.

Athens County Prosecutor C. David Warren filed a memo in January asking the judge to allow the alleged refusal and the diary as evidence in the case. The memo was a response to Hodge’s initial memo, which asked for the evidence to be suppressed, in December.

Hendrickson’s alleged refusal to discuss his injuries with a doctor should not be considered in court because it violates his privacy rights under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, according to Hodge’s initial objections in documents filed Dec. 21.

Warren filed a response Jan. 2, which requested that the evidence be admitted.

Hendrickson’s alleged refusal did not violate HIPPA because another person, a police officer, was in the room, according to Warren’s response.

Hodge argued in his rebuttal Monday that using Hendrickson’s alleged refusal as evidence violates his constitutional right to remain silent.

Warren contended that the diary entries prove Hendrickson’s state of mind at the time of the murder and indicate the murder was premeditated, according to his response.

Hodge’s Monday response stated the diary entries demonstrate that Hendrickson was saddened by his break-up with his ex-girlfriend, but expressed no threats toward her.

Athens County Court of Common Pleas Judge Alan Goldsberry has not reached a decision on whether the evidence can be used in the case.

 
— Jessie Balmert, Rebecca Black and Libby Cunningham contributed to this report