BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON -- With members of the victim's family looking on, Franklin Saunders pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity Friday to the shooting death of his ex-girlfriend.
Judge John Moser of Butler County Common Pleas Court ordered that Mr. Saunders undergo a psychiatric examination to determine whether he's competent to stand trial.
The judge also revoked Mr. Saunders' $500,000 bond and ordered that he be held in Butler County Jail.
Mr. Saunders is charged with aggravated murder, kidnapping and having a weapon while under disability. He had been barred from possessing weapons after a 1986 felonious- assault conviction in Adams County involving his ex-wife, prosecutors said.
The body of his ex-girlfriend, Lisa Weber of Fairfield, was found June 9 in woods near Muhlhauser Road in Butler County's Union Township. She had been shot to death.
Hours earlier, Mr. Saunders pulled a shotgun on Ms. Weber and her 19-year-old son, Justin, and dragged the woman into his car, witnesses have said.
Mr. Saunders surrendered to police the next day. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty.
During his brief arraignment Friday, Mr. Saunders stood before Judge Moser in handcuffs and leg shackles. He was flanked by his lawyers, Kenneth Lawson and Rodney Harris.
Seven members of Ms. Weber's family -- including Justin Weber and her 17-year-old daughter, Shannon -- sat silently in the front row.
Before the hearing, prosecutors cautioned family members to keep quiet and not to react to anything said in court.
After the hearing, family members declined to comment.
The family has filed a $1 million wrongful-death lawsuit against Mr. Saunders.
