Attorney: 'Doubts' about Mental State of Menifee Senior Accused of Killing Wife

By PAUL J. YOUNG, City News Service:

A former Riverside County sheriff’s sergeant accused of fatally stabbing his 82-year-old wife appears unable to comprehend why he’s facing criminal charges, his attorney said Thursday.

“After spending an hour with him, I have to declare doubts as to his mental competency,” defense attorney David Macher told Riverside County Superior Court Judge Becky Dugan.

Macher is representing 80-year-old Thomas Sreeve Peterson of Menifee, who was arrested Saturday for the alleged attack on Ann Peterson.

The defendant, clad in a red jumpsuit and sandals, made his initial court appearance Thursday afternoon at the Riverside Hall of Justice. He was transported in a wheelchair and remained shackled.

Peterson appeared to be underweight, weak and was hunched over and glassy-eyed, never speaking above a murmur during the hearing.

Dugan ordered that he undergo psychiatric exams and appointed two doctors who contract with the county to handle the procedures. The judge set a status hearing in the case for Dec. 31.

Peterson remains held in the jail ward of Riverside County Regional Medical Center in Moreno Valley.

According to published reports, he suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, though Macher would not confirm that for City News Service.

Sheriff’s officials said deputies were called to the Peterson residence at a retirement community in the 27800 block of Calle Ladera around 12:20 p.m. Saturday to investigate reports that a woman was injured in the home.

Ann Peterson was reportedly found on the kitchen floor, bloody and unconscious. She was taken to a hospital with life-threatening wounds and was pronounced dead on arrival, according to the sheriff’s department. Thomas Peterson was questioned and taken into custody without incident.

There has been no mention of what might have provoked the knife assault that claimed the victim’s life.

According to sheriff’s officials, Peterson was a deputy from 1960 to 1978, retiring as a sergeant while working in the corrections division.