William DeFoor Remains In Custody Until Trial In JD Vance Case

William DeFoor hit the headlines when he allegedly took a hammer and smashed windows, and damaged a federal vehicle at the home of JD Vance. That happened on January 5, and the Vice President wasn’t there at the time. On Wednesday, January 13, he appeared in court and will remain in custody until his trial.

Attorney Claims The Case Isn’t Political

Cincinnati.com reported that when William was in court, his attorney, Paul Laufman, claimed that potentially, JD Vance wasn’t an intended victim. Apparently, he’s done that sort of thing before. In fact, in 2024, he was arrested but not placed in jail. Instead, he went for treatment for mental health reasons.

DeFoor, on the other hand, was described as deliberately targeting Vance, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Muncy said. In fact, it seems that the prosecution will try and go for a trial to prove that “His intended target was the Vice President of the United States.”

From the very beginning of this true crime investigation, people felt that William might try and get off accountability because of mental health reasons. The attorney for his defense seems inclined to aim for that. The outlet cited him as saying, “I don’t think that this is a political case.”

Mental Health Issues

The Attorney argued that his client belongs in a special place where he can be treated, rather than sitting behind bars. After all, he also talked about how “breaking glass” is one thing that DeFoor does when he’s having a psychological crisis.

Well, for now, he remains in custody because Hamilton County Municipal Court Chief Magistrate Judge Stephanie Bowman felt he was “escalating.” However, she did acknowledge that William DeFoor needs to get his mental health issues checked out. 

When DeFoor first appeared in court six days ago, WKRC Channel 3 shared a video showing him being advised of charges leveled against him. At the time, commenters expressed frustration about the mental health angle. Still, he could be proven unwell or even unfit to stand trial.

Crime Watchers React

One true crime follower wrote, “Im tired of these people hiding behind mental health issues. He knew the VP lived there.”

Here are a few more reatcions from the dioscussion:

• What if the Vance kids had been home with a babysitter I don’t [care] about his mental health issues.
• Lets Pray for this confused kid. 26 is still a kid in a lot of situations.
• Life imprisonment, please.
• Let him go.

As you can see, reactions vary widely. What is known about his background is that his dad is a doctor and they live in a wealthy area. In the past, William was being cared for by his mom because of mental health issues. Right now, it seems unlikely that he’ll serve life in prison if he did commit the crime.

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below, and come back here often for all your true crime news and updates.