Murder suspect has extremely low intelligence, trial hears
Murder suspect Terry Wingert has an extremely low IQ and an elementary school academic level, a psychologist testified Thursday.
Dr. Marc Nesca said he conducted testing on Wingert in September 2016 to determine his cognizant functioning.
“Academic testing revealed academic skills … that were all in the elementary school range,” Nesca told defence lawyer Kelsey Sitar.
Nesca said Wingert’s word reading and mathematical skills were at a Grade 3 or Grade 4 level, while his spelling and sentence comprehension were at a Grade 6 level.
“IQ testing revealed an IQ of 67, which falls at the extremely low level, it places him at the first percentile.”
Wingert is charged with seconddegree murder in the Christmas Day 2013 death of Anthony Fernandez.
Nesca was testifying in a voir dire, or trial within a trial, on the admissibility of confessions Wingert made to police.
Wingert told an undercover officer posing as a member of a criminal organization that he was involved in the beating death of Fernandez with another man as part of a drug robbery of the smalltime dealer.
He later repeated his confession to homicide Det. Mike Shute.
Sitar and co-defence counsel Karen Molle are challenging the admissibility of both statements.
Wingert is fighting the murder charge, but has admitted he’s guilty of manslaughter.
When asked the significance of Wingert being in the first percentile of intelligence quotient, Nesca said that would put the accused at a very low intelligence level.
“In a general sense, we would expect 99 per cent of the general population to have a higher IQ than Mr. Wingert,” he said.
Nesca said Wingert’s neurological results indicated a person with limited understanding.
He had “particular difficulties in the area of auditory comprehension, the ability to understand and follow instructions, some difficulties in concentration,” the doctor said.
Nesca said Wingert showed a fragile psyche.
“Fragile psyche is a clinical term used to describe individuals who tend to become easily overwhelmed by pressures,” he said.