Murder By Zoloft

911

911

Well-known Member
Location
USA
Wednesday morning, 4 other retired Troopers and myself met for breakfast at a local restaurant. We got to talking about unusual cases that we had while on duty. I told the story about a murder that happened in a college town here in PA. I was nearing the end of my shift, so I decided to head back to the barracks and do my reports, so that I could hand them in and then go home.

As I was approaching the center of town, I received a call on the radio from dispatch to go to a specified address and to see the man, who called in stating that his friend had killed his girlfriend. I was only a few blocks away, so I quickly responded and was the first police officer at the scene. Upon arrival at the scene, I could tell just by looking at the young lady that she had passed. I cuffed the suspect and then checked the young lady for a pulse, which there was none. After I verified that she was deceased, I contacted dispatch and requested that the Coroner be notified and that we would be needing a CSI team to respond. Here in PA, the body cannot be moved until the Coroner certifies the death and the CSI people have finished their work.

The “preliminary” investigation showed that the suspect had made an attempt to clean up the scene, which resulted in an additional charge of evidence tampering.

The unusual part of this case was that the defense used the taking of a personality altering drug named Zoloft. The defense stated that because he had stopped using the drug suddenly and without his doctor’s permission or advice, his thinking was skewed.

Fast forward to the trial….Schaeffer (the defendant) was found guilty of third degree murder per a plea arrangement and sentenced to 26-53 years in the big house. I would imagine that he will spend most of the 53 years before being released.

Do you have any comments about this type of defense?

http://www.gettysburgtimes.com/news/article_aa5c7e5a-c74f-11df-8f2f-001cc4c002e0.html
 

Well his thinking was not so skewed that he did not attempt to clean up the scene of the crime. So he knew what he was doing.

Lots of weird cases, I remember one where the guy claimed he was sleepwalking when he killed his in laws.

I suppose if you have a good lawyer any excuse might get the guilty off.
 
The guy who drowned his wife in their swimming pool and claimed it was a sleepwalking incident was later convicted and sentenced to life, without parole.
 
911 said:
Wednesday morning, 4 other retired Troopers and myself met for breakfast at a local restaurant. We got to talking about unusual cases that we had while on duty. I told the story about a murder that happened in a college town here in PA. I was nearing the end of my shift, so I decided to head back to the barracks and do my reports, so that I could hand them in and then go home.

As I was approaching the center of town, I received a call on the radio from dispatch to go to a specified address and to see the man, who called in stating that his friend had killed his girlfriend. I was only a few blocks away, so I quickly responded and was the first police officer at the scene. Upon arrival at the scene, I could tell just by looking at the young lady that she had passed. I cuffed the suspect and then checked the young lady for a pulse, which there was none. After I verified that she was deceased, I contacted dispatch and requested that the Coroner be notified and that we would be needing a CSI team to respond. Here in PA, the body cannot be moved until the Coroner certifies the death and the CSI people have finished their work.

The “preliminary” investigation showed that the suspect had made an attempt to clean up the scene, which resulted in an additional charge of evidence tampering.

The unusual part of this case was that the defense used the taking of a personality altering drug named Zoloft. The defense stated that because he had stopped using the drug suddenly and without his doctor’s permission or advice, his thinking was skewed.

Fast forward to the trial….Schaeffer (the defendant) was found guilty of third degree murder per a plea arrangement and sentenced to 26-53 years in the big house. I would imagine that he will spend most of the 53 years before being released.

Do you have any comments about this type of defense?

http://www.gettysburgtimes.com/news/article_aa5c7e5a-c74f-11df-8f2f-001cc4c002e0.html
Click to expand...
Without even studying any stats on whether people are liable to become homicidal as a sideffect of taking Zoloft, the fact the man attempted to clean up the scene makes me very suspicious. Too organised. Typically, drug induced psychosis precludes
such clear reasoning. A person in such a state is more likely to lie down beside the victim, or run naked into the street.
 
Regarding Zoloft, I recall hearing a news story several years ago that a man in NYC (?) was picked-up while walking down the street, stark naked. The cops took him to a hospital and the Drs there said he had suddenly stopped taking his anti-depressant med, Zoloft.

I have no way of knowing if he was psychotic, but clearly that poor guy was not in his right mind. Prior to that incident, the guy was a normal hard working architect. So, yeah, going off Zoloft without proper medical care can be quite dangerous.
 
I am not a medical practitioner so wonder if someone could clarify. If Zoloft is an anti-depressant then one assumes going off it would make the person depressed.

Does it not follow then that the person would be more apt to harm themself rather than someone else? So then in killing someone else as in the OP they would surely be guilty of murder?
 
Shalimar said:
Without even studying any stats on whether people are liable to become homicidal as a side-effect of taking Zoloft, the fact the man attempted to clean up the scene makes me very suspicious. Too organised. Typically, drug induced psychosis precludes
such clear reasoning. A person in such a state is more likely to lie down beside the victim, or run naked into the street.
Click to expand...

This is what the defense used to strike a deal. The DA said that he was afraid that the jury may consider the fact that the Zoloft at least played a part in the defendant's actions. He met with the family and they agreed to the DA's deal that he offered. Here in PA, getting out early is very difficult in the area where this crime was perpetrated. He will most likely serve a minimum of 35-40 years before parole is considered, if the family would continue to argue their case in front of the parole board when the defendant comes before them seeking his parole.

The DA also told us that the reasoning for his decision was based upon the fact that if a jury member does not understand just what effects Zoloft does and doesn't do to one's mind is the main issue in this case. Besides, bringing in several highly skilled, highly paid Psychiatrists on both sides, not to mention people from the manufacturer of Zoloft, Pfizer, would run the cost of the trial up severely, which many cities are now attempting to limit costs associated with trials and incarcerations. The budgets for these two items are out of control and the money could be better spent elsewhere, like in education. This is not my opinion, but what the legislature has been talking about.
 
I read an article about Zoloft and it's side effects. Aggressive behavior was not one of them, but it is with Celexa. But the defense was saying that stopping the drug caused his mood to become aggressive.

The description of the murder was horrific; it takes time to strangle and stab multiple times. He really meant what he was doing. They had broken up as a couple and I sense that was the motive and cause for his rage.

Abruptly stopping antidepressants cause panic and other disorders but don't think stopping the drug was enough to make him want to kill.
 
The last thing I want to do is start an argument about the affects of suddenly stopping Zoloft but I am currently slowly weaning myself off Zoloft and I can testify that it can, and does, seriously mess with a persons mind. So, yes I can see how it could be possible for a person to lose control, especially in a situation where a relationship is breaking up.

Please don't get me wrong. I do not condone the murderer's actions. But I do believe that people can suddenly "snap" when under great emotional strain. That is why we so very often hear on the evening news about people who kill their ex lovers.
 
I'd be interested in the date.
My husband and I were good friends with a husband and wife lawyer team.
She was defending a young policeman who had been using Prozac and shot his live in girlfriend, not fatally. ..
The early antidepressants had some odd behaviors attached to them...
The drugs come with very explicit warnings about not stopping them without a doctor's oversight.
The big issue is you feel good while taking them and you think you're ok but it's actually the drug.
 
There are a lot of drugs that make people act irrationally. My sister took Ambien one night before bed, got up in the middle of the night and moved all the extremely heavy (and she is a small person) redwood patio furniture all over the yard. She woke up the next morning with dirty feet and bruises all over her legs. She had absolutely no memory of moving the furniture or of even getting out of bed. I supposed it would have been possible for her to do something worse and not remember it.

I remember a case here in town probably 30-35 years ago in which a prominent doctor who was the head of something at one of the local hospital systems got drunk, broke into the house next door and attempted to rape the lady who lived there. He was acquitted on the grounds that he was "incapacitated" by drink and wasn't responsible for what he did. I'm sure that if he was just Joe Q. Not-So-Good-A-Citizen and not Dr.Joe Q. Well-to-do-Citizen, he would have been found guilty as hell. Money talks and the brown stuff walks.
 
jujube said:
There are a lot of drugs that make people act irrationally. My sister took Ambien one night before bed, got up in the middle of the night and moved all the extremely heavy (and she is a small person) redwood patio furniture all over the yard. She woke up the next morning with dirty feet and bruises all over her legs. She had absolutely no memory of moving the furniture or of even getting out of bed. I supposed it would have been possible for her to do something worse and not remember it.

I remember a case here in town probably 30-35 years ago in which a prominent doctor who was the head of something at one of the local hospital systems got drunk, broke into the house next door and attempted to rape the lady who lived there. He was acquitted on the grounds that he was "incapacitated" by drink and wasn't responsible for what he did. I'm sure that if he was just Joe Q. Not-So-Good-A-Citizen and not Dr.Joe Q. Well-to-do-Citizen, he would have been found guilty as hell. Money talks and the brown stuff walks.
Click to expand...
Yep, guilty until proven rich.
 
Butterfly said:
I am extremely skeptical of both the "antidepressants made me do it" and the "stopping the antidepressants made me do it" defenses.
Click to expand...


Look at it this way. Do you agree that a cheating spouse, or a spouse that has left, can drive a person to the very edge of sanity ? Male or female makes no difference.

I semi-recently saw closed-circuit tape of a woman who had caught her husband cheating on her. She waited for him in a parking lot. When he came out of the bar, arm-in arm with another woman, she ran him over with her car, backed up, and ran him over twice more.

Now, add to that level of emotional instability. Throw in the stressful, mind altering condition of going off Zoloft.

So, yeah, I can see how it is possible.

Do I think that a person who commits such actions be found not guilty ? Honestly, I just don't know. But, one thing is certain. I do believe in "temporary insanity".
 
Clara Harris,married,both dentists,he had a side thing going,she ran him over several times in a hotel parking lot,backed up did it again,where he was leaving with the mistress.
With his teenage daughter in the car.
Just heard something about her,she was either granted parole or denied again.
 
I think using that "medication" defense is ridiculous. Talk about a slippery slope, if that excuse is considered valid, where will it end? "Your honor, I forgot to take my vitamins that morning?"

I think someone should write a book compiling all the ridiculous defenses on the record in criminal trials. It would be fascinating and hilarious!
 
911 said:
Wednesday morning, 4 other retired Troopers and myself met for breakfast at a local restaurant. We got to talking about unusual cases that we had while on duty. I told the story about a murder that happened in a college town here in PA. I was nearing the end of my shift, so I decided to head back to the barracks and do my reports, so that I could hand them in and then go home.

As I was approaching the center of town, I received a call on the radio from dispatch to go to a specified address and to see the man, who called in stating that his friend had killed his girlfriend. I was only a few blocks away, so I quickly responded and was the first police officer at the scene. Upon arrival at the scene, I could tell just by looking at the young lady that she had passed. I cuffed the suspect and then checked the young lady for a pulse, which there was none. After I verified that she was deceased, I contacted dispatch and requested that the Coroner be notified and that we would be needing a CSI team to respond. Here in PA, the body cannot be moved until the Coroner certifies the death and the CSI people have finished their work.

The “preliminary” investigation showed that the suspect had made an attempt to clean up the scene, which resulted in an additional charge of evidence tampering.

The unusual part of this case was that the defense used the taking of a personality altering drug named Zoloft. The defense stated that because he had stopped using the drug suddenly and without his doctor’s permission or advice, his thinking was skewed.

Fast forward to the trial….Schaeffer (the defendant) was found guilty of third degree murder per a plea arrangement and sentenced to 26-53 years in the big house. I would imagine that he will spend most of the 53 years before being released.

Do you have any comments about this type of defense?

http://www.gettysburgtimes.com/news/article_aa5c7e5a-c74f-11df-8f2f-001cc4c002e0.html
Click to expand...

Do I have comments? you bet I do! The criminal justice system is totally screwed up with these kinds of defenses- a/k/a excuses.

I don't know if the laws have changed in recent years, as I haven't been there, but California did make an important change quite a few years ago when they started taking the approach 'voluntary intoxication is not a defense.' The idea was if an individual, of his/her own free will, uses a substance, they can't say 'waaa waaa I'm not responsible for what I did because I was drunk/stoned.'
Seems to me the case you posted about should be similar: while I do believe use of those drugs have gone way out of line, the individual 'chose' to stop taking it. So he should be responsible for the consequences of that choice. And if he was considered so mentally impaired that he couldn't legitimately make such a decision on his own, he shouldn't have been walking the streets in the first place.

Anyone can make an honest mistake or an error in judgment, but with these 'defenses' individuals are literally getting away with murder.
If Pappy is reading this thread, he might recall this case: https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/05/nyregion/a-sentence-of-therapy-in-a-slaying.html
I wasn't far from that area at that time, so I heard about it from the beginning- the 14-year-old girl clearly showed intent and premeditation by taking the knife with her when she left home. 5 years of 'outpatient therapy' for stabbing her boyfriend 23 times!

Frankly, I think the CJ system should take on the old M'Naghten rule- where a person is either judged 'sane' and responsible for his actions, or 'insane' and placed where they cannot harm anyone again.
 
I met this woman in 2010 when believe it or not she was volunteering in a nursing home...
I wouldn't say she's mentally unstable but the signs were there that she's definitely not 100%.
I put it together with the name she was using,she never actually spoke about it...she still resides in the same area.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top