DELUSIONS

          State v. Bechard          Somerset County Superior Court          Skowhegan, Maine

     Mr. Bechard was charged with two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder secondary to his attacks on the residents of a nunnery.  Expert testimony by Dr. Charles Robinson established that Mr. Bechard lacked the substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions.  He was found not criminally responsible.  The role of delusions and hallucinations (and the differentiation of the manifestations of these symptoms from the manifestations of alleged substance abuse and anti-social personality disorder) were keystone elements in the expert testimony. 

                              Defendant's Attorneys:

                              Walter Hanstein, Esq.                              Farmington, Maine                              (207) 778-2959

                              Michaela Murphy, Esq.                              Waterville, Maine                              (207) 873-0781

(See also newspaper article "Doctors relate tales of madness in Bechard trial")
          State v. Ilsley          Oxford County Superior Court          South Paris, Maine

     Defendant Ilsley suffered from a severe psychiatric disorder.  One manifestation of this disorder was his ten year obsessional following of a former school mate for whom he professed a love which he believed (in his delusional state) was reciprocated.  The Defendant's expert testimony by Dr. Charles Robinson demonstrated that Ilsley's illness precluded him from appreciating the charges brought against him.  He was found incompetent to stand trial and discharged from the County Jailing which he had been held for the previous several months. 

                              Defendant's Attorney:

                              William Maselli, Esq.                              Auburn, Maine                              (207) 783-4800

          State of Maine v. Kigas          Penobscot County Superior Court          Bangor, Maine

     Defendant Kigas starved to death her young daughter over a period of five weeks.  Defense expert Robinson demonstrated that the Defendant lacked the substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions because of hallucinations and delusions suffered by the Defendant.  These hallucinations and delusions caused the Defendant to believe that she was pregnant with a child fathered telepathically by Jazz guitarist Pat Metheny and that she was being tormented by devil worshipers in her apartment complex. 

These symptoms caused her to believe that her child was possessed by evil and could be delivered back to God only in death through starvation.  The Defendant was found not criminally responsible. 

                              Defendant's Attorney:

                              Perry O'Brian, Esq.                              Bangor, Maine                              (207) 942-4697

(See also newspaper article "Tonia Kigas found not guilty")
          State v. Dedekian          Kennebec County Superior Court          Augusta, Maine

     Defendant Dedekian was charged with the suffocation death of her infant son.  The defense retained Dr. Charles Robinson as an expert.  At the conclusion of each of two contested hearings, the defense prevailed in their assertion that the Defendant was incompetent to stand trial.  After four years of in-patient psychiatric treatment, the patient's competence was attested to by Dr. Robinson.  At sentencing, the Judge ordered the Defendant to serve a six year term of probation to the satisfaction of her treating psychiatrist. 

                              Defendant's Attorney:

                              John Pelletier, Esq.                              Augusta, Maine                              (207) 622-6161

State V. Bowie
Penobscot Superior Court    
Bangor, Maine 
  

 

 

Mr. Bowie lived alone with his aging father. The defendant became increasingly 

paranoid in regard to his father’s behavior. In a delusional state he hammered his 

father to death, berried him in the snow and covered his head with hubcap. Defense 

expert Charles Robinson PHD evaluated the defendant and found that he lacked the 

substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions. Mr. Bowie was 

found not criminally responsible.

 

Defense Attorney:

Walter Hanstein, Esq.

Farmington Maine

(207)778-2958

 

 

 







 
 
See also the online publications: 




FILICIDE: BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL AND PROFILING CONSIDERATIONS 
FILICIDE: MOMS WHO KILL THIER CHILDREN
ABNORMAL CONDITIONS OF MIND: A FORENSIC OVERVIEW  
OBSERVATIONS ON COGNITION AND INSANITY 
AGGRESSION AND INSANITY: DETERMINING THE CAPACITY TO APPRECIATE