Accused Napa State Killer Pleads No Contest

The man believed to have strangled a psychiatric technician last fall pleaded no contest Tuesday in .

A court spokeswoman said , 38, who was a patient at the hospital, is scheduled for sentencing Aug. 23.

Robbery and kidnapping charges against Massey were dismissed in return for his no-contest plea, the court spokeswoman said.

Massey had pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity last month to the strangulation murder of Donna Gross on Oct. 23.

Two doctors were to evaluate Massey's mental health and report to Napa County Superior Court Judge Mark Boessenecker this week.

Massey was held over for trial in May on the murder, robbery and kidnapping charges.

Gross, 54, of Concord, died of asphyxiation after she was attacked in an enclosed courtyard at the state hospital.

Gross took a dinner break around 4:30 p.m. She bought gum at the nearby and checked back in at the hospital at 5:15 p.m., Capt. Tracey Stuart said.

She was robbed of jewelry, gum and less than $2, Stuart said.

Gross's watch, two necklaces and her earrings were found in Massey's room and the gum was found in a trash can on Massey's ward, Stuart said.

The sheriff's office believed Massey used his hands and arms to strangle Gross, Stuart said.

Massey was sent to Napa State Hospital after pleading not guilty by reason of insanity to stabbing a woman in a Sacramento parking garage in May 1996.

By Bay City News Service