Norwich man accused of killing pregnant wife in psychotic episode committed to hospital
NEW LONDON — A 46-year-old Norwich man found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2016 murder of his pregnant wife was ordered committed to a state psychiatric hospital for up to 85 years.
Inside New London Superior Court on Monday, a three-judge panel ruled Patrick Antoine posed a significant risk to himself and others if released from the Whiting Forensic Hospital in Middletown where he has been held since September.
Dr. Reena Kapoor, the hospital’s chief of psychiatric services, testified on Monday that Antoine suffers from severe mental illness – likely a form of schizophrenia - and though he’s shown some recent improvement still requires continued treatment in the facility’s maximum security wing.
In September, Judges Shari Murphy, Ernest Green Jr. and Hillary Strackbein agreed with testifying mental health experts – including a state-retained psychiatrist - that Antoine, who believed his wife had placed a voodoo curse on him, was unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions or to control his conduct when he murdered 37-year-old Margarette Mady more than five years ago.
That ruling came after two days of testimony in Antoine’s trial on charges of murder, first-degree arson and assault on a pregnant woman resulting in termination of pregnancy.
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How did Margaret Mady and her unborn child die?
On June 2, 2016, firefighters responded to a structure fire at 283-285 Franklin St. where Mady’s burnt and stabbed body was pulled from a second-floor apartment. Experts testified Mady, who was eight months pregnant, suffered 17 serious stab and cutting injuries across her body from a serrated object – police said Antoine confessed to using a steak knife to kill his wife - including one that penetrated 4 inches into her back.
Mady’s cause of death was listed as due to blood loss induced by sharp force injuries and ruled a homicide. The fetus died due to the trauma suffered by Mady.
As the house fire raged, Antoine showed up at the Norwich police station and confessed the murder and arson. He insisted Mady had placed a curse on him that required him to kill her to prevent being sacrificed for the couple’s unborn child, who Antoine believed was fathered by the devil.
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Kapoor said Antoine still believes he was the target of witchcraft and, despite a regime of anti-psychotic medication, continues to suffer from auditory hallucinations.
Why was Antoine committed to a psych hospital for the maximum sentence?
State’s Attorney Paul Narducci had asked the judicial panel to impose the maximum 85-year committal – the same length of time he could have been incarcerated if found criminally responsible for the murder and arson - in what he called the “tragic and horrific” death of Mady.
Antoine’s public defender, Robert Kappes, said in previous cases he’d typically argued for the least amount of committal time for a client in similar circumstances.“But I’m compelled in this instance to find Mr. Antoine needs substantial medical treatment,” he said.
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Kappes said he’d leave the length of his client’s commitment in the hands of the state’s Psychiatric Security Review Board.
Several of Mady’s relatives attended Monday’s proceedings and submitted a group victims’ statement that was read aloud in court requesting the maximum committal period for Antoine.
“We wish we could hear from Patrick to fully understand why he did what he did,” the statement read. “We realize, given his status, we may never get the closure we need. We feel he should be held in the most secure and restrictive setting possible.”
Antoine, assisted by a Creole interpreter, declined to address the court.
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Mental health experts at Antoine’s trial said he started developing symptoms of a serious psychosis while a teenager in Haiti - he moved to the U.S. with Mady in 2013 - believing a hex had been placed on him by an “unknown enemy.” Those ongoing delusions led to frequent bouts of anxiousness and sleeplessness, along with various physical ailments that plagued him for years.
Antoine on the day of the murder likely suffered a schizophrenic episode of “psychotic proportion” and believed his life was in danger, according to trial testimony.
John Penney can be reached at jpenney@norwichbulletin.com or at (860) 857-6965.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Norwich man who murdered pregnant wife committed to psych hospital
