BUFFALO (AP) -- A New York man charged with repeatedly raping his mentally disabled half-sister before she was killed by their mother is due in a Buffalo courtroom.
A hearing for Luke Wright is scheduled for Thursday in advance of his Erie County Court trial, scheduled to begin April 4.
Wright's attorney has said he'll pursue a psychiatric defense for the 31-year-old.
Wright faces nine felony counts including rape and sodomy in connection with the January 2010 death of 23-year-old Laura Cummings.
Their mother, Eva Cummings, is already serving 57 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.
Authorities say Laura Cummings was beaten, scalded and tied to a chair with her head covered in the months leading up to her suffocation death.
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