COUNTY'S OLDEST CONVICTED KILLER RELEASED.Byline: David Greenberg The creator of this article, or someone who has substantially contributed to it, may have a conflict of interest regarding its subject matter. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Staff Writer The oldest convicted killer in Ventura County was deemed to have regained his sanity and was given his unconditional release Thursday - four years after he strangled stran·gle v. stran·gled, stran·gling, stran·gles v.tr. 1. a. To kill by squeezing the throat so as to choke or suffocate; throttle. b. his wife of 62 years because of her uncontrollable cough. No longer considered a risk to the community, Alfred Pohlmeier, 94, was released to the care of his family by Judge Steven Hintz, who based his decision on a psychiatrists' report containing similar findings. Pohlmeier, a retired postal worker, was not in court for the hearing. ``He was never a danger to the community,'' Deputy Public Defender public defender, governmental official who represents indigent persons accused of crime. U.S. Supreme Court decisions expanding the right to counsel to pretrial proceedings and holding that a person cannot be sentenced to even one day in jail unless a lawyer was Susan Olson said after the hearing. ``And because the stress was removed from his life, he was no longer criminally insane. There was no basis for his continuing supervision by the court.'' Charged with second-degree murder two years ago, Pohlmeier was found not guilty by reason of insanity not guilty by reason of insanity n. plea in court of a person charged with a crime who admits the criminal act, but whose attorney claims he/she was so mentally disturbed at the time of the crime that he/she lacked the capacity to have intended to commit a crime. for the Sept. 13, 1995, strangulation strangulation /stran·gu·la·tion/ (strang?gu-la´shun) 1. choke (2). 2. arrest of circulation in a part due to compression. See hemostasis (2). stran·gu·la·tion n. of his ailing, 86-year-old wife Lidwina, who had an uncontrollable cough. Pohlmeier had repeatedly tried to get medical help for his wife but was told there was nothing that could be done, Olson said. ``It was a misguided act of love,'' she said of the slaying. ``He was insane because of a medical condition. He had had several small strokes and that combined with the stress of caring for a frail, ill wife caused him to commit the act. ``I think most people who have cared for an elderly relative know how stressful it can be,'' she said. But prosecutors maintained throughout the case that Lidwina Pohlmeier's murder was premeditated pre·med·i·tat·ed adj. Characterized by deliberate purpose, previous consideration, and some degree of planning: a premeditated crime. , not a spur-of-the-moment act. ``Our position the entire time was that he was sane,'' said Deputy District Attorney Kathleen O'Brien. ``(Now) there is no one to check on him. I'm going to hope his family takes good care of him.'' Pohlmeier was originally sent to the Patton State Hospital History Patton State Hospital is located located in San Bernardino county, California. First opened in 1893, it was renamed Patton State Hospital after Harry Patton in 1927. Patton opened in 1893, as a state run, public sector forensic hospital. in San Bernadino County. The Ventura County Behavioral Health Department later placed him in a board-and-care facility, where he spent a year. |
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