Hempfield man accused of beating elderly father to death ruled competent for court

A Hempfield man accused of beating his 92-year-old father to death last December before setting the house on fire has been deemed mentally competent to proceed to court on homicide and related criminal charges.

Douglas F. Novak, 41, appeared in court Wednesday, his hands and legs shackled and wearing a blue Westmoreland County Prison uniform. Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani in March ordered that he undergo mental health treatment at Torrance State Hospital in Derry Township at the request of Greensburg defense attorney Brian Aston.

State police charged Novak with homicide, arson, risking a catastrophe and reckless burning in connection with the Dec. 20 death of his father, Frank Novak, at the elder Novak’s Courtview Drive home in Hempfield where they both lived.

According to court documents, Novak beat his elderly father to death over a missing cell phone and then set his house on fire in an attempt to cover his tracks.

Novak’s scheduled Jan. 15 preliminary hearing was continued due to Aston’s concerns about his client.

“Judge, prior to the preliminary hearing (in January), I was unable to communicate with Mr. Novak to evaluate the case. But now after he’s been (treated) at Torrance, I believe he’s competent and we can proceed with the preliminary hearing. After being able to converse with him, I believe he how understands what he is facing,” Aston said in court Wednesday during a brief hearing.

Feliciani said Torrance staff also advised him that they believe Novak is able to proceed with the court case.

Feliciani said he would order a preliminary hearing date be set.

Novak recently returned to the county jail where he had been held since his Dec. 21 arrest without bail.

Investigators were called to a house fire near Hannastown Golf Club around 9:15 p.m. Dec. 20 and found Frank Novak dead lying in a bed. A witness told troopers he saw a man matching the description of the younger Novak standing inside facing a burning staircase after the fire call.

A state police fire marshal ruled the blaze an arson and said it started in the living and dining rooms. The fire didn’t spread to the elder Novak’s bedroom as the door leading to it was closed, police reported.

The elder Novak, a World War II Navy veteran who worked for American Window Glass, had significant injuries all over his body, including bruises, cuts and broken fingers, troopers said. A forensic pathologist said he died from those injuries, not the fire, according to arrest papers.

The younger Novak was found early Dec. 21 at the intersection of Roseytown Road and Route 119 after someone reported a suspicious person to police. Two days later, he admitted to beating his father and setting the fire, according to court papers. His mother, Marianne Novak, was not home at the time.

The Novaks also have a daughter and three grandchildren, according to an obituary.