HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) - A judge has ordered a man to remain in the state psychiatric hospital, where he was sent after being found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2004 fatal stabbing of a man.
Adams County District Judge Stephen Illingworth made the ruling Tuesday at the annual review for Jayson Garett, the Hastings Tribune said (https://bit.ly/11KCE3E ). Authorities say Garett has bipolar disorder and that he was in a manic phase when he stabbed 45-year-old Daryl Peed to death at Peed’s home on March 27, 2004.
A hospital staff psychiatrist, Rajeev Chaturvedi, testified at the review that Garett had made progress and has been moved to the least restrictive area of the center. Garett has become increasingly accepting of his mental illness and the need for medication.
“We don’t expect this illness to disappear, but it can be controlled with medication,” Chaturvedi said.
But concerns remain, he said, because Garett “looks for external incentives to maintain compliance with treatment.” Garett is focused on what he must do to be released from the hospital instead of developing the internal motivation to manage his illness, Chaturvedi said.
Without internal motivation, he said, Garett could neglect to take his medications correctly or could abuse controlled substances, undoing all his progress.
Chaturvedi recommended that Judge Illingworth order Garett to remain in the hospital, under state care.
Authorities have said Garett walked naked across Hastings and broke into Peed’s home. Peed lived alone and was sleeping on a couch wearing earplugs when Garett attacked. Peed was stabbed 45 times, mostly with a serrated steak knife.
The two men were strangers, investigators said.
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Information from: Hastings Tribune, https://www.hastingstribune.com
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