DANVERS, Mass. — Lawyers for Philip Chism, the Massachusetts teen accused of raping, robbing and killing his Danvers High School math teacher, will call a well-known New York psychiatrist to testify about the teenager’s mental state during and after incident when his trial gets underway this fall.

In a notice filed Monday morning, Chism attorney Denise Regan identified her expert witness as Dr. Richard Dudley Jr.

The Salem (Mass.) News reports Dudley has testified for the defense in a number of high-profile cases, including that of Joshua Komisarjevsky, one of two men convicted of and sent to death row for killing a mother and her daughters during a Connecticut home invasion in 2007; and during pre-trial competency proceedings in the case of Colin Ferguson, the man behind the Long Island Railroad mass shooting in 1993.

Chism, 16, is set to stand trial in October in the Oct. 22, 2013 rape, robbery and murder of his Danvers High School math teacher, Colleen Ritzer, 24, of Andover, Mass.

The decision to mount a mental health defense is not unexpected. Police gathered a significant amount of physical evidence linking Chism to the crime and he was carrying Ritzer’s belongings when he was arrested.

The notice filed by Regan does not offer any details of what the psychiatrist found in his evaluation of Chism. It also does not indicate how much Dudley will be paid for his work on the case.

Chism’s defense is being paid for by taxpayers.

The notice does indicate that Dudley is expected to base his conclusions in part on the statements that Chism made to state police Lt. Norman Zuk and Danvers Police Sgt. Phil Tansey in the early morning hours of Oct. 23, 2013, after he was found walking on a dark and narrow stretch of Route 1 in Topsfield, Mass.

That could open the door for prosecutors to use those same statements in rebuttal of the doctor’s testimony, even though Salem Superior Court Judge David Lowy ruled that the statements are not admissible as evidence against Chism during the prosecution’s case-in-chief.

That statement, which was recorded, has remained sealed. Lowy denied the defense’s request to impound the video, a ruling that was upheld by Appeals Court Justice Peter Agnes. But late last month, Supreme Judicial Court Justice Fernande Duffly said she plans to order the recording and a transcript to remain sealed at least through Chism’s trial. She has not released a written decision with her reasons.

The notice by Chism’s attorney also gives prosecutors the opportunity to hire their own expert to meet with and evaluate Chism so that they can respond to the defense expert’s opinion.

The lawyers will be back in court on Friday afternoon to discuss more specifics of the proposed defense.

The filing came during a hearing Monday on the logistics of jury selection in the high-profile case, set to begin Oct. 7.

Lowy indicated Monday he anticipates calling some 300 potential jurors to court over three separate days, ultimately selecting a final jury of 16. Twelve jurors will eventually decide the case.

Those juror summonses will be sent out by the state’s jury commissioner soon.

Lowy told the lawyers that he envisions jury selection taking about a week or so.

Manganis writes for The Salem (Mass.) News.