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Insanity Defense

CEO Murder Case: Luigi Mangione's New Lawyer Signals Defensive Strategy CEO Murder Case: Luigi Mangione's New Lawyer Signals Defensive Strategy
CEO Murder Case: Luigi Mangione's New Lawyer Signals Defensive Strategy Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has retained high-profile attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo, who could mount a defense centered on Mangione's mental state. Friedman Agnifilo, a former Manhattan Chief Assistant District Attorney turned criminal defense lawyer, suggested a possible strategy even before formally joining Mangione’s legal team.  “It looks to me like there might be a not guilty by reason of insanity defense that they’re going to be thinking about because the evidence is going to be so overwhelming that he did wh…
Maplewood Man Convicted Of Beating Mom Dead As She Slept, Prosecutor Says Maplewood Man Convicted Of Beating Mom Dead As She Slept, Prosecutor Says
Maplewood Man Convicted Of Beating Mom Dead As She Slept, Prosecutor Says A 38-year-old Maplewood resident was convicted on Monday, Oct. 21 of murder charges in his mother's death, which he then framed as a suicide, authorities said. Benjamin Avrut was found guilty of first-degree murder after beating his 70-year-old-mothe Gwen to death, Prosecutor Theodore Stephens said. The jury had rejected Avrut's insanity defense. On Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, Avrut entered his sleeping mother's apartment at The Top, a luxury condominium in Maplewood, Stephens said. When she awoke, Avrut beat her to death with his fists, Stephens said.  Avrut,  who had a hist…
Montvale Man Convicted Of Murdering Parents, Brothers Freed After 45 Years Montvale Man Convicted Of Murdering Parents, Brothers Freed After 45 Years
Montvale Man Convicted Of Murdering Parents, Brothers Freed After 45 Years A New Jersey convict who drew international attention after he shot and killed his entire family in their Bergen County home on Thanksgiving weekend 47 years ago has been paroled. Harry De La Roche, 64, had been denied six times and was told in 2019 that he'd have to wait until 2028 before he could petition the Parole Board again. However, records show a variety of work, annual reviews and other credits combined to free De La Roche on June 29 after 45 years behind bars. As with all state inmates, the 6-foot-3-inch, 219-pound De La Roche must first pull time at a halfway house while findin…
'Pathetic' Man Sentenced For Murdering 'Beautiful' Ex-Girlfriend At Worcester Bar In 2019 'Pathetic' Man Sentenced For Murdering 'Beautiful' Ex-Girlfriend At Worcester Bar In 2019
'Pathetic' Man Sentenced For Murdering 'Beautiful' Ex-Girlfriend At Worcester Bar In 2019 A 32-year-old New Hampshire man will be spending life in prison without the possibility of parole for stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death inside a Worcester bar several years ago.  Carlos Ascenio was sentenced for the murder of Amanda Dabrowski, a 31-year-old microbiologist he briefly dated, on Thursday, June 29. He was found guilty of first-degree murder on last Tuesday following an eight-day trial, as previously reported by Daily Voice.  Appearing in Worcester Superior Court, Ascenio asked to waive his right to be physically present for his sentencing, and instead asked for…
Carlos Asencio Guilty Of Murdering Amanda Dabrowski At Worcester Restaurant In 2019 Carlos Asencio Guilty Of Murdering Amanda Dabrowski At Worcester Restaurant In 2019
Carlos Asencio Guilty Of Murdering Amanda Dabrowski At Worcester Restaurant In 2019 A 32-year-old New Hampshire was found guilty on Tuesday, June 20, of stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death inside a Worcester bar in 2019, authorities said.  Carlos Asencio was found guilty of first-degree murder following an eight-day trial in the death of Amanda Dabrowski, a 31-year-old microbiologist he briefly dated, the Worcester County District Attorney's Office said. He now faces a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.  Prosecutors said Asencio taped a phone underneath Dabrowski's car and tracked her to O’Connor’s Restau…
'Zombie Hunter' Who Beheaded PA Woman Sentenced To Death: DA 'Zombie Hunter' Who Beheaded PA Woman Sentenced To Death: DA
'Zombie Hunter' Who Beheaded PA Woman Sentenced To Death: DA An Amazon delivery driver by day and self-described "zombie hunter" at night has been sentenced to death.  Bryan Patrick Miller a 49-year-old Arizonan pleaded insanity with a lawyer who used a "Jekyll and Hyde" defense during a trial over the brutal stabbing and beheading deaths of two young women— including a 21-year-old from Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, according to Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell. Miller, also dubbed the "Canal Killer", was "found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, dangerous class one felonies, two counts of kidnapping, class two dangero…
Dating Profile Of VA 'Werewolf Killer' Has Prosecutors Worried For Single Women Dating Profile Of VA 'Werewolf Killer' Has Prosecutors Worried For Single Women
Dating Profile Of VA 'Werewolf Killer' Has Prosecutors Worried For Single Women Pankaj Bhasin's dating profile says he's an easygoing adventurer who just got back from two years of traveling.  What it doesn't say is that he's nicknamed the "Werewolf Killer" and that his vacation was actually a three-year stint in a Northern Virginia mental institution. Bhasin, 37 — who has ties to Blackwood and East Brunswick, NJ — was found not guilty by reason of insanity a year after he drove from his Central Jersey home to Alexandria, VA and fatally stabbed 65-year-old Bradford Jackson, a complete stranger to him.   Bhasin was released from the N…
NJ 'Werewolf' Killer To Be Released From VA Mental Institution NJ 'Werewolf' Killer To Be Released From VA Mental Institution
NJ 'Werewolf' Killer To Be Released From VA Mental Institution A New Jersey man who thought he was killing a werewolf when he attacked an Alexandria store manager is set to be released from a mental institution soon, a report says.  Pankaj Bhasin, 37, killed Bradford Jackson, a stranger to him, in 2018. A year later, a Virginia court determined that Bhasin was legally insane at the time of the killing, the Washington Post reported at the time.  Doctors at the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute now say he's well enough to leave the facility after two years of treatment, and a judge has agreed to allow him a conditional release, NBC…
Imprisoned Gunman Who Killed Wife, Good Samaritan At Clifton Church Wants New Trial Imprisoned Gunman Who Killed Wife, Good Samaritan At Clifton Church Wants New Trial
Imprisoned Gunman Who Killed Wife, Good Samaritan At Clifton Church Wants New Trial A convict who's 10 years into serving two life sentences for shooting and killing his wife and a congregant at a Clifton church wants New Jersey's highest court to overturn his conviction. Joseph "Sanish" Pallipurath, 40, argues in an appeal to the state Supreme Court that his attorney should have mounted an insanity defense during his trial in Superior Court in Paterson in 2011. Reshma James, 24, had been trying to flee an abusive arranged marriage in India that continued after Pallipurath brought her back with him to California, prosecutors said at the time. James obtained a r…
Former Drama Student Found Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity In University Of Hartford Stabbing Former Drama Student Found Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity In University Of Hartford Stabbing
Former Drama Student Found Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity In University Of Hartford Stabbing A college student in Connecticut who was charged with stabbing two other students has been found not guilty by reason of insanity. San Diego, California resident Jake Wascher, 21, was facing charges that include first-degree assault and criminal attempt to commit murder following an incident on campus that led to a temporary lockdown earlier this year. A judge ruled that prosecutors had proved that Wascher committed the crimes of first-degree assault and carrying a dangerous weapon after the attack on March 31. However, he also determined that Wascher’s lawyer proved that he lacked crimina…