Judge rules teen insane when he killed his father.
By: Sharlee DiMenchi
A Dayton man charged with killing his father was acquitted by reason of insanity last week at the Middlesex County courthouse in New Brunswick.
On May 1, state Superior Court Judge Frederick De Vesa found that Michael Janicki, 19, was too schizophrenic to make ethical judgments when he stabbed his father, Ortwin Janicki, 55, with a 3-foot decorative sword in their Madison Place home July 17, while the older man slept.
Police arrested Michael Janicki on July 18 in Plainsboro near Schalks Crossing Road after Plainsboro Patrol Officer Joseph Jankowski found him under a railroad bridge of the NJ Transit Northeast Corridor line. He had placed a 911 call earlier in the day, but refused treatment when paramedics arrived.
Michael Janicki was charged with murder and unlawful possession of a weapon. State-appointed forensic psychiatrist Louis Schlesinger of Maplewood said during the trial that Michael Janicki was hallucinating and delusional at the time of the crime.
The judge ordered Michael Janicki removed from the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center, placed in custody of the state Department of Human Services and evaluated for commitment to a mental health facility. Once placed, he will be evaluated for release every six months, Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Kapsak has said.
Michael Janicki’s defense attorney William Fetky said after the trial on May 1 that he hopes Michael Janicki will eventually respond to treatment well enough that a judge will order him removed from the facility.
Michael Janicki’s mother, Cheryl Janicki, declined to comment.
Based on Michael Janicki’s answers to questions by Mr. Fetky, Judge De Vesa determined that Michael Janicki, who had waived his right to a jury, was mentally fit for trial. To be fit for trial, defendants must be able to understand how a court functions and to cooperate in defending themselves. Michael Janicki, who has been taking Rispirdol for five months, said in testimony that he believes the medicine has cleared his thinking. Mr. Fetky asked Michael Janicki a series of questions to demonstrate that he knew he was in court charged with murder and understood the process of a trial.
"Who’s that sitting at the table right there?" Mr. Fetky asked.
"Tom Kapsak," Michael Janicki said.
"What does he do?" Mr. Fetky asked.
"Prosecute," Michael Janicki said.
Michael Janicki left the stand with his wrists together as if he were still wearing the handcuffs that had been removed prior to beginning his testimony.
To be considered legally insane, Michael Janicki would have to have a mental disease that prevented him from either understanding the nature of what he did or rationally evaluating the ethics of his actions, said Dr. Schlesinger.
Dr. Schlesinger said Michael Janicki understood the nature of his actions, but that his disorder prevented him from making sound ethical judgments.
Dr. Schlesinger said Michael Janicki knew he was killing his father, but believed doing so would save his mother’s life.
"He knew that he was going to kill his father. He knew it was a sword and he knew stabbing him with the sword would kill him," Dr. Schlesinger said.
Dr. Schlesinger said Michael Janicki had a hallucination of a blond man who told him to kill his father in order to protect his mother, and the blond man, from being attacked by a gun-wielding gang that Michael Janicki believed was outside his house.
Michael Janicki believed killing his father would prompt the gang to kill him instead of Ms. Janicki and the blond man, Dr. Schlesinger said.
Dr. Schlesinger said Michael Janicki told him that on the night of the slaying, "The blond guy said ‘kill your father and then they’ll get you.’"
Dr. Schlesinger said Michael Janicki left his house after the stabbing to look for the gang members he believed would kill him.
"In this case, his leaving the crime scene does not reflect consciousness of guilt," Dr. Schlesinger said.
Michael Janicki told police when they arrested him that he believed a gang was after him, Dr. Schlesinger said.
"It’s very rare for someone to tell the police of these delusions," Dr. Schlesinger said.
Dr. Schlesinger said Michael Janicki talking about the gang to the arresting officer suggested that he did not fabricate the delusion to make himself appear insane.
Dr. Schlesinger said he administered tests, such as a Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms, to determine whether Michael Janicki was exaggerating or pretending to be ill and found that he was being honest.
Dr. Schlesinger said mentally sound defendants seeking to appear insane feign exaggerated symptoms, or malinger. "Very often a malingerer will see less than the blind and hear less than the deaf," Dr. Schlesinger said.
Dr. Schlesinger said tests showed that Mr. Janicki did not have any hallucinogenic drugs in his system the night of the attack, but that he had smoked marijuana. The delusions and hallucinations Michael Janicki experienced the night of the slaying followed days of disordered thinking and unusual behavior typical of those suffering from schizophrenia, Dr. Schlesinger said.
Dr. Schlesinger said Mr. Janicki believed others could read what he was thinking and could insert their thoughts into his mind. Dr. Schlesinger said Michael Janicki also had outbursts of anger and symptoms of paranoia.
"His girlfriend reported that he was carrying a steak knife with him and she asked him why. He said ‘for protection,’ " Dr. Schlesinger said.
Dr. Schlesinger said Michael Janicki was preoccupied with people fatally shooting each other and believed he was responsible for the death of a high school classmate, who is still alive.
Michael Janicki also called police and 911 to report a tapeworm he believed was inside him the night of the killing but refused treatment when an ambulance crew arrived, Dr. Schlesinger said.
"’I thought I could survive the night with this tapeworm,’" Dr. Schlesinger said Michael Janicki told him.
Dr. Schlesinger said Michael Janicki was previously diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder.
Mr. Kapsak said the diagnosis came about four years ago, when Mr. Janicki was in ninth or tenth grade.
Dr. Schlesinger said Michael Janicki was dangerous to himself and others because he had a history of mental illness, had eventually stopped taking medicine prescribed for schizoaffective disorder, and hid his symptoms from his parents for fear they would institutionalize him.
Mr. Fetky said after the trial that the judge would determine what living arrangements would ensure that Michael Janicki no longer poses a danger to himself or others, Mr. Fetky said.
Some patients live in group homes, with assistants or by themselves after release from mental health hospitals.
Mr. Fetky said he would advocate for the situation that would allow Mr. Janicki the most freedom while ensuring he was harmless.
"Obviously we’re looking for the least restrictive means," Mr. Fetky said after the trial.

