Man who sent Hannibal Lecter photo to judge to go on trial

MONESSEN, Pa. — A Pennsylvania man has been ordered to stand trial on charges he threatened a judge by sending her a letter including a picture of movie cannibal Hannibal Lecter. Gregg Tchirkow of Monessen, claimed at Thursday’s preliminary hearing that the picture was a “cry for help’’ and a way to tell the court he needed psychiatric help when transitioning from prison to freedom.

Lecter is the criminally insane psychiatrist who helps an FBI agent track a serial killer in the film “The Silence of the Lambs.’’ Westmoreland County Judge Meagan Bilik-Defazio sent Tchirkow to prison for 18-36 months in 2015 for growing marijuana in his home.