Nicholas Cunningham, 33, stood with his attorney, Michael Kivlighan, at a hearing earlier this year in his aggravated murder case in the October 2023 killing of Gena M. Wade, 44, at Wade’s rural home on Courtney Road, north of Beloit. (File photo by Ed Runyan)

YOUNGSTOWN — On Thursday, Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge Anthony Donofrio ordered that Nicholas Cunningham, 33, formerly of Alliance, be evaluated again to determine if he is competent to stand trial in the October 2023 killing of Gena M. Wade, 44, at Wade’s rural home on Courtney Road, north of Beloit.

Cunningham was evaluated and then deemed not competent to stand trial in early 2024. He received treatment and was then deemed competent to stand trial in April 2025. In June, Visiting Judge W. Wyatt McKay in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court set a trial date for Cunningham of Nov. 3, 2025.

NEWEST MOTION

Cunningham’s attorney, Michael Kivlighan, filed a motion Wednesday with Donofrio asking for his client to be evaluated for competency again, saying that he has “concerns that (Cunningham) is not presently competent and does not presently have sufficient ability to consult with his lawyer and with a reasonable degree of rational understanding, nor does he have a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him.”

“Recently, counsel for the defendant has noticed that Mr. Cunningham’s capacity to understand the proceedings and assist in his own defense has diminished,” Kivlighan stated in the filing.

He said Cunningham “does not have the capacity to make informed decisions about the evidence or plea options available to him. Due to the renewed concerns regarding the mental health of Mr. Cunningham, scientific expert testimony is crucial,” Kivlighan stated.

The filing states that all of the providers who have evaluated Cunningham in the past have been chosen either by Donofrio or by prosecutors. He stated that Cunningham should be provided with the “funds necessary to present a defense.”

Cunningham has been deemed indigent, meaning unable to pay for his own counsel or expert witnesses or service providers, so Kivlighan has to ask the judge each time Cunningham needs the services of such individuals.

Kivlighan first requested a psychiatric evaluation for Cunningham in January 2024. That was carried out, but county prosecutors asked for a second evaluation by a second provider. Both said Cunningham was not competent, Kivlighan’s filing notes.

Donofrio filed a judgment entry Thursday approving the hiring of John M. Fabian of Austin, Texas, to evaluate Cunningham at a cost of no more than $3,500 and up to $1,500 per day for “possible trial testimony.”

At the same time, Mahoning County prosecutors asked that Donofrio authorize a “second opinion” to be obtained from forensic psychologist and attorney Jon Stinson of Columbus, which Donofrio also approved. The entry noted that prosecutors asked for that evaluation now “for the purposes of not delaying the matter further.” The cost of Stinson’s services was not listed in the judgment entry.

VICTIM’S FAMILY

Michelle Hively of Canton, sister of Gena Wade, talked in May 2024 about her family’s frustration that Wade was killed despite her sister and other family members having a civil stalking protection order against Cunningham.

She said her family told police in February 2023 that Cunningham, of Alliance, was making threats against her sister and a young female family member. Cunningham is charged with aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, violation of a protection order and other charges in Wade’s death.

Hively and her fiance, Richard Hashman, said Hively and her sister had known Cunningham for many years because both women provided care to Cunningham’s mother, Kathy Cunningham, for about 20 years.

“We felt bad for Nicholas. We gave him rides to the gas station,” Hively said.

Hashman said Nicholas Cunningham “didn’t have many friends, so (the sisters) tried to look out for him a little bit.”

But that all changed in late 2022 when Hively and her family learned that Cunningham had a criminal record from 2015 involving a child.

Hively said Wade found out that Cunningham was posting “inappropriate” things about the young family member on Facebook, so they “told him to stay away,”

After that, Cunningham started to make death threats, Hively said.