Opinion ID: 2586480
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Testimony of psychologists

Text: Dr. Edward Fischer performed psychological evaluations of defendant in 1993 and 1996. In his evaluations, he considered the following information based on his interview of defendant's half sister, Elizabeth Bartel, and his review of numerous documents obtained by defendant's counsel, including defendant's academic records and mental health records. Defendant and Bartel, who was 11 years his senior, were raised in poverty by their mother, Barbara D'Arcy. During defendant's childhood, his mother suffered from black moods that would last for days or weeks. She was not approachable and would not speak to defendant or his half sister while she was in this condition. Defendant's mother often beat him during his childhood, causing bruising on his body. Because she worked the night shift during defendant's early childhood, she tied him in bed during the day so that she could sleep. When defendant was eight years old, defendant's mother forced him to eat his feces because he defecated in his pants on a road trip to Northern California. Dr. Fischer described defendant's primary diagnosis as paranoid schizophrenia with a learning disability, organic brain dysfunction, and drug and cannabis dependence. His secondary diagnosis was mixed personality disorder including paranoid personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, and borderline personality. According to Dr. Fischer, defendant's schizophrenia was a severe mental disability that he had had all his life. Dr. Veronica Thomas evaluated defendant's mental state in October 1996 based on her interview of defendant, psychological tests, review of historical information, and interviews with his mother and half sister. Her review of the information showed that defendant's mother did not deny she tied him down during his early childhood; defendant wet his bed until he was 12 years old; and defendant experienced hallucinations at age 22. Dr. Thomas explained that bed-wetting is a sign of serious emotional problems and that hallucinations at age 22 would definitely be associated with a future psychotic diagnosis and/or experience. She diagnosed defendant with a psychotic disorder, delusional disorder, personality impairment disorder, and substance abuse, and attributed the cause of his psychotic disorders to brain dysfunction, genetics, emotional and physical trauma, and child abuse. Dr. Thomas believed that defendant was a sociopath and concluded that he was experiencing a psychotic break when he murdered Laborde. Dr. Joan Glad testified that in 1970, she was a clinical psychologist with the Orange County Children's Hospital and had interviewed defendant and his mother. She learned then from reviewing historical records that defendant had set a fire on the grounds of his grammar school. Defendant's mother told Dr. Glad that she kept defendant away from other children. Dr. Glad diagnosed defendant with a learning disability and opined that defendant was unhappy, felt helpless, and lacked feelings of power and control. Defendant's childhood experiences with bed-wetting and fire setting were consistent with his development of severe emotional disturbance later in life. She concluded his mental health was dangerously poor.