Handcuffed and shackled, Michael D. Marchalk kept his eyes downcast as he sat in a Schuylkill County courtroom, listening to his younger brother Matthew describe finding the bloody body of their father, Barnesville attorney Gary D. Marchalk, whom Michael has admitted to killing on Father’s Day.

Following 50 minutes of testimony from prosecutors on Thursday, District Judge Christina E. Hale of Frackville found sufficient evidence to send murder and related charges against Michael Marchalk, 37, on to court.“How was it hearing from your brother?” a reporter asked Michael Marchalk as he was escorted from the courtroom by Schuylkill County Sheriff Joseph G. Groody and Deputy Gerard Daley.“It was difficult to hear,” Marchalk said.Asked if he had intended to kill his father, Marchalk replied, “no, I didn’t.”Marchalk is charged with criminal homicide, murder of the first degree, murder of the second degree, murder of the third degree, voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, robbery, theft, theft of a motor vehicle, access device fraud, and recklessly endangering another person.The preliminary hearing was to be held in the Schuylkill County courthouse, Pottsville, for security reasons. Gary Marchalk was a well-known criminal defense lawyer who practiced mainly in Schuylkill County.See the Times News print edition for more on the hearing.