December 20, 2006
Jury: Man was insane when he fatally stabbed woman in 2004
SAN DIEGO - A man was insane when he broke into a San Diego home and fatally stabbed a 53-year-old female acquaintance two years ago, a jury decided today.
Michael Leonard Reid, 35, who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder before trial, could spend the rest of his life in a state mental institution, according to attorneys handling the case.
If found sane, Reid could have been sentenced to 26 years to life in state prison.
"He will remain housed in a (mental) facility for the remainder of his natural life," said defense attorney Kerry Steigerwalt.
A status conference was scheduled Jan. 8 before Superior Court Judge Charles Gill.
Reid will probably be evaluated before being sent to a state mental hospital, Deputy District Attorney Bill Gentry said.
Four doctors testified that Reid was insane when he stabbed Rebecca Brown at least 10 times in the chest, back, stomach and left arm the morning of Oct. 24, 2004.
One doctor testified for the prosecution that Reid was sane when he committed the murder.
Philip Barry, who lived next to the victim, testified at an earlier hearing that he heard two loud noises outside his bathroom the morning of the murder.
Barry said he next heard screams, then saw a heavy-set man jogging through his front yard.
The witness said the intruder hopped on a bicycle and rode away.
Barry said Reid looked like the intruder he saw run across his yard.
A San Diego police detective testified earlier that he followed a trail of blood from the victim's Jamacha-Lomita area home to about a half-mile from the defendant's residence in Spring Valley, which is 1.8 miles away.
Bloody clothing and a bicycle with blood on it was found at Reid's residence, police said.
Reid's mother testified that her son left home in the early morning hours of Oct. 24, 2004, and returned later with wounds on his hands.
Published by North County Times wire services