A judge will decide whether a Vancouver man accused of fatally stabbing his sister last year should be acquitted on grounds he was legally insane.
The pretrial insanity hearing for Michael Schuurmans, 48, began Monday in Clark County Superior Court with testimony from family members who described his rapid decline over the past two years due to bipolar disorder with psychosis.
A month before the alleged slaying, Schuurmans had likened himself to Jesus Christ, saying he was going to be resurrected.
“He said he would die on a Friday and raise from the dead like Jesus,” testified his daughter, Kimberly Schuurmans.
The psychosis culminated on Feb. 28, 2009, the day of the attack, when he allegedly believed he was God and his sister, Shirry L. Dohman-Rice, was Satan.
Under the state’s narrow standard for insanity, Superior Court Judge Robert Lewis must decide whether Schuurmans understood right from wrong and could appreciate the criminality of his actions.
The proceedings are expected to wrap up Wednesday. If Lewis finds Schuurmans sane, he could proceed to a jury trial on a first-degree murder charge on March 29. If not, Lewis could decide to commit him to Western State Hospital near Tacoma.
Monday, Schuurmans’ daughters and ex-wife described a man as anything but attached to reality.
An electrician who once was a loving and caring father, Schuurmans fell into a deep depression a decade ago, said his former wife, Michelle Schuurmans.
Though he sought and received treatment, Schuurmans declined even more over the last few years. And a year before the alleged murder, “it was like a flip of a switch,” Michelle Schuurmans said.
He became obsessed with religion and started referring to himself as “Michael the Archangel.” He believed he was receiving messages from the universe through TV commercials and newspaper articles. He also carried around a chain that he talked to.
“It was almost like he became a different person,” she said.
Schuurmans was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2008, but declined medication for his psychotic symptoms.
Defense attorney Tom Phelan is expected to continue to call witnesses today. Deputy Prosecutor Tonya Riddell will then call several witnesses.
Riddell is contending that Schuurmans was aware that he was killing his 53-year-old sister, and that the attack was the result of rising tension between siblings. The two were both living at their elderly mother’s home on Memphis Way in McLoughlin Heights.
In her brief opening statements, Riddell conceded that Schuurmans was mentally ill but said she didn’t believe it rose to the legal definition of insanity.
“Having a layperson think you’re crazy doesn’t stand up to the rigorous standard of the state’s insanity law,” she said.
