MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A judge says a 24-year-old onetime Marine accused of breaking into a Shakopee home and fatally shooting a man is not guilty by reason of mental illness.
Brady Zipoy was acquitted of second-degree intentional murder based on two court-ordered examinations that showed he had been suffering from various psychotic episodes connected to politics, religion, George Floyd’s death and his military service.
Scott County District Court Judge Paul Vraa on Wednesday ordered Zipoy committed to the St. Peter Security Hospital for the June killing of 65-year-old Timothy Guion, the Star Tribune reported.
Defense attorney Brockton Hunter said Thursday that Zipoy’s overseas military service played a large role in his client’s mental instability. Zipoy saw significant combat while fighting ISIS militants, Hunter said. During the unrest following Floyd’s death, the “helicopters flying overhead constantly” had an effect on him, Hunter said.
“His delusions started taking control, and he became more and more out of control,” Hunter said.
County Attorney Ron Hocevar called it a “tough pill to swallow” when someone is killed “in cold blood,” but added that both mental evaluations were done by respected psychologists and it was a valid mental illness defense. Understandably, he said, the victim’s family is not happy.
“You try to explain it the best you can” to grieving loved ones, Hocevar said. “We don’t convict the mentally ill.”
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