Man who decapitated wife must stay under court rule
A man BUTLER COUNTY — who committed one of Butler County’s most notorious crimes but was found not guilty by reason of insanity will continue his required court control 31 years after decapitating his wife.
Raymond Tanner, 65, was in Butler County Common Pleas Court in October for a biennial review of the court’s requirement that he seek counseling as part of his conditional release.
After testimony from three psychologists, Judge Jennifer McElfresh ruled last week that Tanner’s court-ordered treatment continue. It will be reconsidered in November 2023. Two years ago, Tanner appealed the judge’s same decision and it was denied by the 12th District Court of Appeals.
On Valentine’s Day 1990, Tanner, a steakhouse meat cutter, killed his wife after an argument in their Fairfield home and sawed off her head. He put the head on their bed, then walked to the police station in bloody clothes and admitted to the slaying, according to news reports and court records.
In June 1990, Tanner was found criminally insane and to have been suffering from acute schizophrenia at the time of his wife’s death. He was having paranoid delusions that rendered him incapable of distinguishing right from wrong, according to doctors who did psychological evaluations shortly after the killing.
Tanner was released from a mental health facility in 1996, six years after he killed 21-year-old Maria Tanner.
After being housed in a mental facility, Tanner was released with conditional provisions that have continued to the present. Specifically, in 1996 he was required to have eight counseling sessions per year at a Dayton facility, as well as undergo two random drug screens per year.
Over the years, those reporting requirements have decreased, but Tanner has remained under court control. Tanner is now required to attend a therapy session with a counselor every four months.
Dr. Myron Fridman testified as the designated forensic monitor. He has evaluated Tanner multiple times in 12 years.
Fridman testified there has been some disagreement on a diagnosis of Tanner’s mental illness, but said a single episode of major depressive disorder appears to best fit his symptoms.
The doctor testified data suggests “that at least 60 percent of individuals with major depressive disorder, single episode can expect to have a second episode,” according to court documents.