Ex-Student's Sanity To Determine Murder Sentencing

The trial continued Wednesday for former PCC student George Wood Pigman IV as witnesses for the defense appeared to testify to his mental state during the crime.Pigman was convicted of first-degree murder on Monday. The second phase of his trial is to determine if he was insane at the time he killed his girlfriend, Japanese exchange-student Eimi Yamada in May 2005.

The defense called forensic psychiatrist Dr. Gregory Cohen, who testified Wednesday that Pigman suffers from Bipolar I Disorder with psychotic features, and could not have appreciated the nature of his actions due to what he phrased as a "first manic break."

"The family, particularly on the father's side, has a history of acute mental disorders," Cohen told the jury. "An uncle on the father's side is being treated for Bipolar Disorder. There's a genetic predisposition for the disorder."

His defense now has the burden of proof, trying to convince the same jury that convicted him of first-degree murder that he was insane when he killed Yamada. The standard that the jury must use in this phase is the civil standard of the preponderance of evidence, rather than the criminal standard of beyond a reasonable doubt.

"That was the guilt phase," said Deputy District Attorney Teresa Sullivan. "The jury convicted him of willful premeditated deliberate murder. This is the phase of the trial that will determine where he serves his time, at a state hospital or men's jail."

Pigman faces the sentence of 25 years to life in prison if the jury finds that he was sane at the time he committed the murder.

"Well, I'm disappointed in that I don't believe the jury really grasped the difference between first and second degree murder," said Public Defender Jose Colon, echoing the closing statements of his co-counsel Public Defender Darby Williams. "We've always conceded the issue of guilt. It's a question of sanity."

The case was handed over to the jury on Feb. 19 after closing arguments. Deputy DA Sullivan stated in her closing that Pigman's mental health had never been called into question until after his arrest.

"The only evidence you have of that (insanity) comes from after the crime," Sullivan told the jury. "Maybe something changed after he entered men's jail, but it wasn't that way when he killed Eimi."

The defense responded to Sullivan's closing statements by acknowledging the crime.

"This is not a case of whodunit. He's responsible for the killing. But what was going on in George's mind? Why?" Williams said.

The defense reminded the jury of Dr. Joseph Ortego's testimony, and his diagnosis of Bipolar I disorder with psychotic features. Ortego is the clinical supervising psychiatrist at Twin Towers Correctional Facility.

In her closing statement, Sullivan argued that the killing of Yamada was brutal, but not bizarre.

"Bipolar doesn't equal justifiable killing," she said to the jury.

The sanity phase of the trial could go as long as two weeks, with the defense prepared to call up to six forensic psychologists and psychiatrists.

Pigman was arrested in May 2005 after police found Yamada dead in the bathroom of her San Gabriel apartment. She had suffered multiple stab wounds and was beaten. During the guilt phase of the trial Prosecution witness Paul Delhauer, a criminal investigative analyst and crime scene reconstruction profiler with Los Angeles County Sheriffs Homicide, testified to how Yamada must have been struck with a pair of salad tongs that was found lying nearby.

Pigman was found on top of a house several blocks away, naked and playing with his genitals. His hands were bloody, and he was making noises but not speaking any words.

Pigman attended PCC from 2001 to 2004, studying English and Journalism before being expelled after he missed an alcohol-related disciplinary hearing.