Docs: Decapitation suspect thought victim was "evil"
PHOENIX, Ariz. - An Arizona man accused of decapitating his wife and two dogs told investigators he smoked Spice, a synthetic marijuana, before the crime and was "trying to get the evil out" of the victim, reports CBS affiliate KPHO.
Kenneth Wakefield appeared in court Saturday after being released from a hospital and booked into jail on suspicion of murder and animal cruelty. Police say Wakefield also gouged out his own eye and cut off his left arm at the forearm.
A judge set bond for Wakefield at $2 million after a prosecutor called Wakefield a danger to the community. Saturday, he let out a howl in court immediately after a prosecutor said Wakefield repeatedly stabbed and decapitated Trina Heisch at their Phoenix home.
Investigators say Wakefield killed Heisch, 49, and their two dogs last month and stashed the bodies in a closet. The grisly scene was discovered July 25 by a neighbor who went to check on Heisch and said Wakefield came to the door naked, covered in blood.
During an interview with police, Wakefield admitted to cutting the dogs' heads off and stabbing Heisch multiple times before decapitating her, reported KPHO, citing court documents. Wakefield also allegedly told police that he smoked marijuana and Spice about an hour before the murder.
"He said he was trying to get the evil out of Trina," police wrote in a probable cause statement.
Wakefield spent 10 years in a state mental hospital after stabbing a relative in 2003. He was found "guilty, except insane" on charges of attempted second-degree murder in the attack, a verdict that spared him prison time.
In November 2014, a state psychiatric board issued an order for county prosecutors to try to extend his stay. The board's chairwoman has said the panel did everything it could in the case to ensure community safety.
The Maricopa County attorney's office acknowledged earlier this week that it was unsuccessful.
"Evidentiary issues precluded us from proceeding with the civil commitment process," said spokesman Jerry Cobb, declining to elaborate because the case is under seal.
Wakefield was approved for release 10 months ago by the psychiatric review board based on a belief that his mental health disease was in remission and that he wasn't dangerous if he lived in a residential treatment program.
Heisch also had a history of mental illness. A judge found her to be "guilty, except insane" on charges of attempted second-degree murder in the stabbing of her 15-year-old son while he was sleeping in January 2000. She was ordered to spend 10 years in the state hospital and was eventually released.
It was not clear what specific mental illness either has suffered from.