Murder case verdict: Not guilty due to insanity
A Dayton man who was 19 when authorities said he shot and killed a 70-year-old man was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Markell Simpson was charged with murder and felonious assault in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court in connection to the 2018 shooting death of Robert Lawerence. In a 9-1-1 call to police, a woman who identified herself as Simpson’s mother said the men were roommates.
In a document filed Dec. 30, Judge Barbara Gorman wrote her findings after a bench trial.
“That it has been shown by a preponderance of the evidence that, at the time of the offense, the defendant did not know as a result of a severe mental disease the wrongfulness of his crime,” the order says. “The defendant is not guilty of the indicted crimes in which he stands charged for the sole reason that he meets the criteria set forth (in Ohio law) to be termed legally insane at the time the act was committed.” The court did find, however, that Simpson was a mentally ill person subject to hospitalization by court order and committed him to Summit Behavioral Healthcare.
“The facility is authorized to administer medications as deemed appropriate for treatment of this defendant,” the order says. “This represents the least restrictive commitment alternative available consistent with the defendant’s treatment needs and the protection of public safety.”
Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Greg Flannagan said while there were some disagreements among the experts during the trial whether Markell fit the criteria for a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict, “there is no question that the defendant was and remains significantly mentally ill.”
“There will be mandatory reviews of his confinement every two years, and the facility must request permission from the court to change his restriction level,” Flannagan said. “Our office will be notified if a change is requested, and we can request an independent evaluation of the defendant. The court can retain jurisdiction over the defendant for life.”
A request for comment sent to the Montgomery County Public Defenders Office wasn’t returned Thursday.
At the time of the killing, residents at the apartment complex where both men lived expressed shock at Lawrence’s death. They said the man worked around the complex.
“He was a neighborhood maintenance man, he spoke to the kids, if you needed help, he was there to help, really sad and unfortunate,” said one woman who asked not to be identified.
The judge ordered the facility to prepare a written report containing a diagnosis, a prognosis, patient history, and treatment within the next six months, and a hearing date has been set for June.