LAKEPORT — Clearlake resident James Wade Roberts, 46, and psychologist Albert Kastl testified in court Wednesday before Lake County Superior Court Judge Richard Martin. Roberts is accused of murdering his former roommate Ruth Donaldson by stabbing and strangulation.
Donaldson shared a Mullen Avenue house with Roberts, his mother Jill Mancuso and four other people at the time of her Oct. 15, 2006 death. Roberts pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in March 2007, and is housed at the Lake County Jail on a $1 million bail bond.
“I was the best person for the job, he (God) did it through me for the benefit of us all. I do not think Ruth dying was an injustice. I think it”s sad because she was my friend, but it”s out of my hands,” Roberts said on the witness stand.
Roberts was responding to a juror”s written question, “If God can override the freedom of choice, is it fair to say anyone can blame anything on God?”
Lake County District Attorney Jon Hopkins interrupted Roberts during answers to several questions from jurors. Hopkins objected approximately four times, saying Roberts had sufficiently answered the question. Defense Attorney Stephen Carter objected to a similar interruption by Martin and once to Hopkins” objection, citing Roberts”s sixth amendment right to defend himself and should have “latitude to answer a difficult question.”
Answering another juror”s question about why Roberts believed Donaldson was the cause of the war in Iraq, Roberts said, “Because the judicial system is responsible for 9/11 and Iraq, which kicked off Armageddon.”
Kastl said on the stand that he agreed with several other doctors who had examined Roberts that he suffered from schizoaffective disorder. Kastl said the condition is a combination of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, both psychotic disorders. Kastl said he first examined Roberts in January 2007, and had a total of four meetings with him.
Asked by Carter about prior references to Roberts hallucinating and having discussions with non-existent entities, Kastl said, “He (Roberts) said there were these things telling him that he needs to kill himself and that he needs to go on a fast for spiritual purposes. These almost certainly mean the presence of a psychotic state.”
Kastl testified that Roberts had told him God directed him in 1992 to attempt suicide, which lead to a psychiatric evaluation and treatment. Kastl said during that time, Roberts lost between 70 and 100 pounds in a roughly three-month period.
Roberts was receiving social security benefits for disability at the time of the murder. “At the time I could not function, I could not hold a job. My career was just taking off when they sent me to jail for something I felt I was not guilty of. It was an act of self-defense for somebody else,” Roberts said.
Hopkins is expected to cross-examine Kastl Thursday, when the trial resumes in Dept. 2 of the Lake County courthouse in Lakeport.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
