Kim Schmidt
Kearney Hub
KEARNEY â A judge has ruled a Shelton man is not responsible for burning down the North Shelton Zion Lutheran church by reason of insanity.Â
Mathew Poehler, 40, of Shelton, was charged with second-degree arson in Buffalo County District Court after the church was destroyed by fire on Dec. 11, 2019. Judge John Marsh made his ruling Thursday.
Mat Poehler
Marsh ruled Poehler s acts in burning the church were intentional; however, there was adequate proof to side with an insanity defense.
During a 15-minute bench trial Monday before Marsh, Poeher s attorney, James Martin Davis, presented a report from Dr. Terry Davis, a forensic psychologist from Omaha who evaluated Poehler and said he had bipolar schizoaffective disorder at the time of the fire.