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drdĒv€
02-09-2007, 04:44 AM
Doctor: Strangler was insane
Cough syrup brought on psychotic state, defense says

Published: February 9, 2007
A psychiatrist told jurors Thursday that Brian Leingang was insane when he killed his wife and infant son on April 14.

Dr. Michael Farnsworth of St. Peter, Minn., said the 33-year-old Sioux Falls man was in a rare psychotic state when he strangled them.

Leingang's insanity was shown in his consistent recollection of events and his conviction that he was being told by God to send his wife and baby to heaven, Farnsworth said.

Leingang also thought he was possessed by the devil that day. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

"He had this delusional belief that he and his wife and his son were to be raptured into heaven," Farnsworth said. "I saw a pattern of behavior consistent with psychosis."

Leingang did not know that it was morally wrong to kill people while he was doing so because of his state of insanity, he said.

Once he realized what he had done, he "was tearful, remorseful. He had wished he were dead," Farnsworth said.

Leingang's defense lawyer, Jeff Larson, presented a case that Leingang's abuse of the cough medicine Robitussin affected his behavior. Two empty 12-ounce bottles of the cough syrup were found at the crime scene, Larson said.

Farnsworth and Eric Kutscher, a psychopharmacologist, supported Larson's case that Leingang's mental state was brought on by substance abuse.

Farnsworth said Leingang told him he took the medicine for a cold but noticed it helped him feel "buzzed up."

Leingang had a history of alcohol, marijuana and methamphetamine abuse, according to testimony.

"He has a psychotic illness and it appears by history to be related to substance ingestion," Farnsworth said.

Leingang has been to a psychiatric hospital as a result of meth use and has been cited for drunken driving.

Kutscher said it is possible some cough syrup ingredients could lead to hyper behavior in individuals as well as visions of things that don't exist.

"The substance could have affected his judgment," Kutscher said.

He also said Leingang's daily use of marijuana over the years could have contributed to anxiety and panic attacks.

According to Leingang's account of his childhood as told by Farnsworth, he grew up in a middle-class, caring family and experienced no deprivation or abuse. He dropped out his sophomore year of high school and moved to Sioux Falls to work, where he lived with his sister and brother-in-law. He held a job in traffic safety services for nine years.

Leingang's wife, Melissa, was 38. Their son Caden was 7 months old.

Larson and prosecutor Dave Nelson will give their closing arguments this morning in the Minnehaha County Courthouse.

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...90314/1001/NEWS (http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070209/NEWS01/702090314/1001/NEWS)

Allen J
02-09-2007, 05:13 AM
Ugh, this obviously traces back to his pre-existing mental state... I guess the philosophical question is about whether or not mentally unstable individuals should be supressed from society and/or killed.

since96
02-09-2007, 08:28 AM
^ I think we do already... unless that article prompted you to wonder if we shouldn't :P...

(I can't stop thinking about that video on liveleak of that guy who talks about killing his wife and eating her brains... craaazy...)