December 22, 2006
Man insane during killing, jury says
A San Diego Superior Court jury has found that a Spring Valley man was legally insane when he broke into a woman's home two years ago and repeatedly stabbed her with a kitchen knife.
The jury acquitted Michael Leonard Reid, 35, by reason of insanity in the slaying of Rebecca Brown, 53. Jurors deliberated for about four days before returning their verdict Wednesday afternoon.
Their decision means that even though Reid pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in October and admitted he used a knife in the attack, he is not legally responsible for the crime and will not be sent to prison.
Judge Charles Gill scheduled a hearing for Jan. 8, when he will likely commit Reid to a state mental hospital. Medical evaluations will determine when and if Reid will be released.
If the jury had found Reid was legally sane when he killed Brown, he could have been sent to prison for 26 years to life.
Defense lawyers Kerry Steigerwalt and Randy Grossman argued during the trial that Reid is schizophrenic and suffers from delusions. They said he believed at the time of the murder that Brown, an acquaintance, had stolen the spirit of his mother and had hired someone to kill his brother.
The lawyers argued that Reid's mental condition rendered him incapable of distinguishing right from wrong.
On the morning of Oct. 24, 2004, Reid broke down a back door in Brown's Jamacha-Lomita home and stabbed her 10 times with a large knife. He fled through the front door, dropped the weapon and rode away on a bicycle, prosecutors said.
Brown's mother lived with her daughter on Banneker Drive and awoke that Sunday around 6:30 a.m. to the sound of Brown's screams. The mother called 911.
Authorities said Brown died almost immediately from her wounds.
Steigerwalt said Reid fell and cut his hand on a flower pot when fleeing Brown's residence and left a 1 1/2-mile trail of blood behind him. Police followed the blood to within a few blocks of Reid's home on Elkelton Boulevard.
Steigerwalt said Reid had been on a five-day methamphetamine binge before the murder. On the way to Brown's house, Reid had visions of his deceased father summoning him through a fence on the property. The vision convinced Reid he was doing the right thing, Steigerwalt said.
Steigerwalt said in an interview that people who suffer from mental disorders as serious as schizophrenia often "turn to (illegal) drugs because of the constant voices that are talking to them."
"It's just a living nightmare," he said.
Steigerwalt said Reid has never had "any kind of normal life" because of his mental condition; he flunked the ninth grade and has never had a job. In 1999, doctors determined he was disabled, making him eligible for Social Security benefits that enabled him to pay rent.
By Dana Littlefield
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER