Witness: Ex-MSU instructor resembled a 'zombie' after stabbing colleague to death

Several more witnesses for the defense of Edward Gutting took the stand Thursday, the fourth day of the ex-Missouri State instructor's murder trial.

Gutting stands accused of stabbing former MSU colleague and retired history professor Dr. Marc Cooper and his wife in their Springfield home in 2016, killing the 66-year-old man and prompting a first-degree murder charge.

Prosecutors believe Gutting drove across town to kill Cooper in a fit of rage because he had long felt slighted by Cooper, and that the career educator perhaps "sabotaged" Gutting's chances of being hired for a tenured Ancient History position.

Gutting trial: Ex-MSU instructor said he felt 'outside of his body' during killing

Gutting pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, leading to multiple court delays and mental evaluations that pushed the trial back several years. He waived his right to a jury, leaving his fate in the hands of Greene County Judge David Jones.

There's no argument that Gutting committed the violent act, but the legal defense team of Joseph Passinese and Taylon Sumners is hoping the court will consider Gutting's mental fitness at the crime and potentially lessen Gutting's sentence. He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Passinese presented two mental health professionals, a neighbor a Cooper's, and a lead police investigator on Thursday before court was adjourned three hours early.

The trial, which was expected to end this week, will now likely continue after Memorial Day weekend.

Did a 'toxic work environment' at Missouri State lead to the murder of Marc Cooper?

Forensic psychologists and witnesses for defense told the court that after mental evaluations of Gutting following his arrest, a 50-year-old Princeton University graduate, they believed he suffered from schizophrenia, diagnosing him with the mental disease.

Gutting was also said by witnesses to have a history of inhaling nitric oxide gas to feel high, which may have also led to his mental illness.

Details emerge in trial of ex-MSU instructor accused of killing colleague

Prosecutors believe Gutting, who was also intoxicated from alcohol when he unexpectedly showed up to Cooper's home with a 12-inch knife, was ultimately in control of his actions when he committed the brutal stabbing of a man witnesses say he had problems with on campus at MSU. According to the prosecution's evidence, Gutting drove to Cooper's home miles away in a rage just hours after learning he was no longer qualified for the Ancient History position — a job formerly held by Cooper — due to an unexpected alteration in the job description.

The defense claims the violence was provoked by paranoid hallucinations caused by schizophrenia, and presented witnesses to help solidify their case.

Cooper's neighbor, Harvey Lucas, said on the witness stand Thursday that when he saw Gutting leaving Cooper's home covered in the immediate aftermath of the stabbing, he looked like a "zombie" walking across their yard.

"I was confused, because I thought after what had just happened someone would be walking faster," said Lucas, who also previously said that Gutting appeared higher than a kite or having some sort of psychotic episode."

Former Springfield Police investigator Chris McPhail, now the Chief of Police in Battlefield, was the lead detective in the case and a defense witness.

McPhail said he looked into a Gutting's work history at MSU to see if there was a contentious history between the accused killer and Cooper. In his findings and interview with Gutting, McPhail told the court that Gutting didn't exhibit any poor feelings toward Cooper. They had worked together in the history department from 2011-2015, as did Gutting's wife, professor Angela Hornsby-Gutting, who is currently listed on the school's faculty website.

The former SPD investigator also said that he found that Gutting had a "casual interest" in Cooper's former position, but had officially not applied for it.

Testimony from several of the prosecution's witnesses earlier this week painted a much different picture, suggesting Gutting wanted the tenured position and Cooper — said to have called his future killer "stupid" in a previous interaction — had influence in a decision to not hire Gutting.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Ex-MSU instructor resembled a 'zombie' after murdering colleague