Bellingham man committed to psychiatric hospital for killing father

PETER JENSEN - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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A Bellingham man who stabbed his father to death in January while suffering from schizophrenic rage has been acquitted of the crime because he's legally insane.

Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Ira Uhrig determined that Brian H. Williams, 24, was mentally incompetent to stand trial Sept. 25.

On Sept. 29, Williams was ordered committed to Western State Hospital, a state-owned psychiatric hospital near Tacoma, where he will receive treatment for his illness.

Williams, who is a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, was charged with second-degree murder for killing his father, Mark, in their house on the 3600 block of Home Road on Jan 3.

He was also charged with first-degree assault for stabbing his mother, Connie, who tried to stop the attack. She was hospitalized but survived.

Family members described Mark Williams as an accomplished musician who spent years teaching elementary band in the Spokane School District.

Mark Williams' brother, Grant, said he hopes his nephew's commitment at Western State Hospital will help him.

"Naturally, it's devastated a lot of the family," Grant Williams said. "It's something you can't recover from fully. But we hope Brian can make the best recovery he can."

After he was arrested, Brian Williams underwent a court-ordered mental-health evaluation with a psychiatrist, who determined he was delusional during the attack. Brian Williams believed he could communicate telepathically, the psychiatrist noted in documents filed in Superior Court.

Brian Williams also believed his father was from a parallel universe, and that he had to kill him to save others from harm, the psychiatrist wrote.

The psychiatrist noted that Brian Williams' drug abuse in 2006 and early 2007, including using LSD, psilocybin mushrooms and Ecstasy, contributed to his schizophrenia.

However, he noted that Brian Williams had stopped using drugs in the months before the attack.

If Brian Williams progresses to the point where he can manage his illness and integrate with society without posing a threat, he can ask the hospital to request a court order for his release, Whatcom County Public Defender Jon Komorowski said.

It could take years to get to that point, and the judge issuing the order would have to believe Brian Williams didn't pose a threat to society, which is unlikely given his violent past, Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Mac Setter said.

"It's not a foregone conclusion that he will be down there for the rest of his life," Komorowski said. "Brian will stay under their control for a very long period of time. Time will tell if he will be able to be reintegrated with the rest of society."

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Friday, Oct. 03, 2008

Bellingham man committed to psychiatric hospital for killing father

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