Man Convicted In 2013 Worcester Murder Will Get New Trial: SJC

WORCESTER, MA — The state Supreme Court has vacated a murder conviction and ordered a new trial in the 2013 killing of a UMass Medical Center psychiatric facility patient.

The judges found that jury instructions in Aldo Dunphe's trial may have been misapplied due Dunphe's possible mental illness. The jury had been instructed to consider that Dunphe was likely sane at the time of the crime.

Dunphe was admitted to the UMass psychiatric facility in November 2013. He had used cannabis daily for years, but had to stop when he entered the hospital. Four days into his stay at UMass, he beat and choked Ratna Bhattarai, who died two days later of his injuries, according to prosecutors.

An expert witness for the state testified that Dunphe was sane at the time of the killing because he was likely only suffering from marijuana withdrawal.

"[The expert witness] noted that some of the symptoms of cannabis withdrawal may have played a role in the killing and that it was 'a bit of a challenge' to assess because some of the symptoms of cannabis withdrawal are the same as schizophrenia," the SJC opinion says.

In ordering the new trial, the SJC is requiring jury instructions to leave out language about Dunphe's presumed sanity.

Dunphe was admitted to the UMass facility on Nov. 1, 2013, after exhibiting increasingly unusual behavior, including suicidal ideation and paranoia, and acting "agressively" toward his wife, according to court records. Once admitted, UMass doctors diagnosed him with "psychosis not otherwise specified."

Dunphe choked and beat Bhattarai's four days later, believing Bhattarai was his father, according to court records. Dunphe's father, who lived in Guatemala at the time of the killing, had been abusive. Dunphe was arrested soon after, and told police that he only meant to beat Bhattarai.

During Dunphe's trial, a defense witness testified that Dunphe was likely suffering from a psychotic episode caused by undiagnosed schizophrenia. But the state's expert witness testified Dunphe was suffering from cannabis withdrawal and was therefore sane at the time of Bhattarai's killing. The expert also said that it would be hard to determine if Dunphe suffered from schizophrenia due to the withdrawal symptoms.

But if Dunphe had a mental illness at the time of the killing, a jury should still consider it, even if he had consumed drugs and alcohol wouldn't, according to the ruling.

"A drug-induced mental disease or defect still constitutes a mental disease or defect for purposes of a criminal responsibility defense," the SJC ruling said. "Therefore, if the defendant suffered from schizophrenia or a similar psychotic disorder at the time of the killing, he had a mental disease or defect regardless of its cause or the defendant's understanding of its cause."