Defence experts have told a Florida jury that Vickie Williams was experiencing severe psychosis and was not legally sane when she allegedly killed an elderly couple in Mount Dora in 2022.
Clinical neuropsychologist Dr Ryan Bennett said Williams was suffering from schizophrenia-related symptoms when Darryl Getman, 83, and his wife Sharon, 80, were fatally stabbed inside their home at the Waterman Village retirement community on 31 December 2022.
“It is my clinical opinion that Ms Williams was under a state of psychosis during the time of the alleged murders,” Bennett told the court in Tavares on Friday.
Defence experts describe hallucinations and delusions
Bennett said he had assessed Williams and reviewed medical records showing that nine mental health professionals had diagnosed her with some form of schizophrenia. He told jurors that her symptoms had deteriorated throughout 2022.
According to his evidence, Williams described experiencing command hallucinations and delusions centred on threats to her children.
“She shared with me a lot of the command hallucinations that she was experiencing, such as beliefs that her children were going to be threatened,” Bennett said.
Asked why Williams allegedly failed to understand that the killings were wrong, he said: “From my clinical approach, that was not present for Ms Williams. At the time, what was present was these very intense hallucinations.”
A second defence expert also told the jury that Williams was not legally sane at the time of the alleged killings and referred to abnormalities identified in brain scans.
Prosecutors challenge insanity defence
During cross-examination, prosecutors questioned Bennett about the scope of his assessment, pointing out that he had not asked Williams about several details of the killings or statements she allegedly made to investigators.
They also stressed that a diagnosis of mental illness does not, by itself, establish legal insanity.
“You would agree that a person can be mentally ill but not insane?” a prosecutor asked.
“Yes,” Bennett replied.
He gave the same answer when asked whether someone could have schizophrenia without being legally insane.
Williams faces two first-degree murder charges and a charge relating to the alleged theft of the couple’s vehicle. Prosecutors have said she understood her actions and knew they were wrong, while the defence argues that psychosis prevented her from making that distinction.
The case reached trial after earlier proceedings were delayed while Williams underwent mental health evaluations and treatment. She was later found competent to stand trial.
The defence is expected to call further witnesses when proceedings resume on Monday.
