WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) - A Massachusetts man whose conviction in the killing a fellow patient in a hospital psychiatric ward was overturned by the state’s highest court will remain in custody while he awaits his new trial.
Aldo Dunphe, of Spencer, was held without bail at a court appearance Thursday, The Telegram & Gazette reported. His attorney, Michael Hussey, reserved the right to request a bail hearing in the future.
Dunphe was granted a new trial by the Supreme Judicial Court, which determined that a problem involving jury instructions created the possibility of a miscarriage of justice.
Dunphe was convicted in 2016 of beating and strangling Ratna Bhattarai in the psychiatric unit at UMass Memorial Medical Center in November 2013. Bhattarai died two days later.
His was convicted of first-degree murder by a Worcester Superior Court jury that rejected his insanity defense.
Dunphe’s lawyers said their client was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of the fatal attack and lacked criminal responsibility for his actions.
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