Psychologist testifies Engel was sane

An expert in forensic psychology and unusual murders, respected for his accomplishments in mental health investigations and his independent opinions, testified Wednesday that Fred Engel was legally sane when he slashed and stabbed Susan Wallace and set her Nevada City home on fire.

After a narration of his credentials that had jurors raising their eyebrows, including the publication of 170 peer-reviewed papers and nine books in the field of forensic psychology, two invitations to speak at Harvard University and retention as an expert in high-profile criminal cases against Susan Smith, Richard Allen Davis and Timothy McVeigh, Dr. John Reid Maloy gave his expert opinion on Fred Engel:

"Mr. Engel knew or understood the nature and quality of his acts and was capable of distinguishing right from wrong," said Maloy, also the former Chief of the Forensic Mental Health Division of the San Diego County Department of Health Services and a current consultant to the FBI and the Royal Family's security service. "Therefore, he doesn't meet the standards of legal insanity in the state of California."

Based on his lengthy investigation of Engel including an analysis of Engel's history, interviews with Engel's family, friends and acquaintances, a day-long interview with Engel and several computerized psychological and medical tests on Engel, Maloy determined there is no question Engel suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and chronic depression, but according to California law, that does not mean Engel is legally insane.

Maloy also mentioned that Engel's father, Robert Goodrich, was convicted of threatening a superior court judge and committed to Atascadero State Hospital in 1986 for a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, another factor in Maloy's diagnosis due to the genetic component of schizophrenia.

In order for the jury to find Engel insane in this second phase of his trial, they must also determine that in addition to suffering from a mental disorder, Engel either did not understand his actions or that he did not understand his actions were legally or morally wrong.

Maloy - known in legal circles as the expert whose opinion differs from the side that called him and as an expert that more often agrees with the defense - said Engel's planning before the crimes, his attempt to cover them up and his moral struggle on the way to Wallace's house prove Engel was aware of what he did and that it was wrong.

"I'm not interested in looking at abstract standards of society," Maloy said. "I look to see if there was any evidence of a moral struggle and strong emotions involved."

Engel told all of the doctors who evaluated him that he planned to murder Wallace. He gathered up weapons, changed into black clothes beforehand, then burned most of the evidence including the weapons and his clothes.

Engel also told one doctor he turned his car around three times on his way to Wallace's house and was crying and horrified about what he "had to do."

On his way to Wallace's home, Engel said he saw a CHP patrol car and thought "maybe this isn't such a good idea."

For the third time during the sanity phase of the trial, Engel's attorney Stephen Munkelt explained Engel's moral dilemma by comparing Engel's struggles prior to the attack with a soldier going into battle.

He said because Engel believed his own delusion - that Wallace was imprisoning young girls in her home and selling them as sex slaves - Engel truly believed killing her was the right thing to do.

The moral conflict, he said, was like that of a man ordered by his government to kill other human beings for the greater good.

But Maloy countered that the simple presence of a moral conflict implies knowledge of wrongdoing.

"The conflict does not exist without knowing what is wrong," Maloy said. After testimony was heard and the jury exited the courtroom, Munkelt made a motion for Judge Robert Tamietti to render his own verdict of insanity instead of a jury directed verdict based on testimony Tuesday from prosecution witness Dr. Erwin Lyons.

Lyons testified Tuesday that Engel is not schizophrenic and his delusions were brought on by methamphetamine abuse.

"Dr. Lyons is not credible and his testimony is not worthy of any weight," Munkelt said.

Assistant District Attorney Ron Wolfson said Munkelt was asking Tamietti to rewrite California law; the legal maneuver has only been enacted in civil cases, never in a criminal case.

Tamietti denied Munkelt's motion.

"There is no statutory basis for the court to make such a verdict," Tamietti said.

Munkelt and Engel both sat stonefaced and showed no emotion. Engel's mother, Lois Engel, sat in the back of the courtroom with her hand over her downturned face.

She has said she hopes her son is committed to a mental institution instead of prison.

The attorneys are scheduled to begin their closing arguments at 9 a.m. today, after which the jury will deliberate on the question of Engel's sanity.

If they find that Engel was insane during the commission of his crimes, he will be sent to a state mental institution for no longer than the maximum prison sentence for his crimes, then released into society and committed to an outpatient treatment regimen.

If the jury finds Engel was legally sane when he attacked Wallace and committed arson, Engel would be handed a prison sentence. The maximum sentence for Engel's offenses is life in prison.

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To contact staff writer Robyn Moormeister, e-mail robynm@theunion.com or call 477-4236.