Thomas J. Petrousky was legally insane when he fatally beat David R. Halaburda in April 2014 in Altamont, a psychiatrist told a Schuylkill County jury on Tuesday.
“I believe ... Mr. Petrousky actually fits precisely ... the M’Naghten standard,” Dr. Larry A. Rotenberg testified. “He neither really understood the nature and quality of his act, nor that what he was doing was wrong.”
Petrousky, 55, of Altamont, should learn his fate today, the third day of his trial, after his lawyer, Chief Public Defender Michael J. Stine, concluded his case by attempting to show the jury his client is not guilty by reason of insanity of killing Halaburda. The trial, over which President Judge William E. Baldwin is presiding, is set to resume at 9 a.m. today.
Prosecutors have charged Petrousky with one count each of criminal homicide, first-degree murder, third-degree murder, possessing instruments of crime, recklessly endangering another person and harassment, two of aggravated assault and three of simple assault.
West Mahanoy Township police alleged Petrousky beat Halaburda, 50, with a piece of wood on the morning of April 28, 2014, at the 256 S. Wylam St. residence they shared.
“The piece of board is very well saturated” with blood, Robert Bonczek, a forensic scientist at the state police crime laboratory in Bethlehem, testified Tuesday. “There are still some hairs embedded in there.”
Rotenberg was the key defense witness, as Stine has concentrated his defense on a possible finding of legal insanity, which is defined as a defendant not knowing the difference between right and wrong, and not knowing his conduct was wrong, at the time he committed it.
The former chief of psychiatry at Reading Hospital & Medical Center, West Reading, Rotenberg said he reviewed legal and medical documents in the case, and evaluated Petrousky on Nov. 19, 2015, for five hours, before reaching his conclusions.
“Mr. Petrousky is a very physically and mentally ill person,” he testified when questioned by Stine.
Petrousky physically suffers or has suffered from insulin-dependent diabetes, kidney failure, pneumonia and heart disease, Rotenberg said.
“It adds another layer to his impairment, the doctor said of Petrousky’s diabetes.
Rotenberg said Petrousky mentally suffers from schizo-effective disorder, although, when cross-examined by Assistant District Attorney A.J. Serina, he could not say when it started.
He said that while accurate information from Petrousky is important, it was not the only factor in his evaluation.
“The evaluation hinges on everything you do,” Rotenberg said. “The evaluation was a very intensive examination.”
Dr. Kenneth Graham also testified for Petrousky about the possible effects of drug use.
Prosecutors also concluded their case Tuesday, offering more scientific evidence about the injuries they say Halaburda suffered at the hands of Petrousky.
“Blunt force trauma to the head and neck” was the cause of Halaburda’s death, forensic pathologist Dr. Rameen Starling-Roney testified. “The manner of death ... is homicide. He had a lot of dried blood on his face. I definitely saw injuries to his face and head. One of the lacerations ... had a metal nut inside of it.”
Beverly A. Beshar-Strohm, another forensic scientist at the state police crime laboratory in Bethlehem, testified she found blood on the sweatshirt and sneakers Petrousky wore on the day of the beating. Prosecutors and the defense stipulated that the DNA from the sweatshirt matched Halaburda’s, as did DNA taken from a sample from the board, while another sample contained both Halaburda’s and Petrousky’s DNA.
Bonczek said the blood on Petrousky’s clothes indicated he was “an active participant” in the shedding of blood.