SPRINGETTSBURY TOWNSHIP — A 31-year-old York County man pleaded guilty but mentally ill Thursday to charges that he attacked his father with an axe during an argument last year in Springettsbury Township, court documents say.
Kevin Blanch, 31, will be sentenced May 30.
Blanch admitted that he got into an argument with his father on Feb. 19, 2017 over an incident that happened at the family’s home the day before. Blanch said he and his brothers had made pot pie, and he got into an altercation with his mother, who accused him of taking too much pot pie and not leaving enough for the others to eat.
The next day, Blanch said, he woke up at about 1:00 p.m., and his father had asked to speak with him for a minute. Blanch said that he ignored his father’s request to speak, and walked past him into his bedroom. However, Blanch’s father remained in the hallway, blocking his path of travel.
Blanch told police that he asked his father to move several times, but he refused. At this time, Blanch went into his bedroom and picked up the Tomahawk throwing ax. At this point, Blanch told police that his father challenged him to “Do It.”
Blanch proceeded to take his ax and swing it, while aiming for his fathers’s neck and shoulder area. His father grabbed the ax and a struggle ensued between the two.
During the struggle, Kevin Blanch kept one hand on the ax and used his other hand to punch his father in the head before attempting to get a knife out of its sheath on his belt. However, Blanch’s father grabbed the knife before he could get it.
Blanch told police that he aimed to “end things quickly” by slicing his father’s throat. He said that he wanted to “neutralize the threat” and that was the one thing he remembered from his military training.
Common Pleas Judge Craig T. Trebilcock ordered two evaluations to help determine the sentence, with a focus not just on punishment, but what services and treatment are available.
Blanch is being held on $75,000 bail in York County Prison.
