Elderly woman stabbed to death by homeless mentally ill man

[crumpet]

Homeless man charged with stabbing woman has history of mental illness

By Sunni Blevins

More information is emerging about the homeless man who police say stabbed a 70-year-old woman to death over the weekend.
According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Johnny Hughes suffers from schizophrenia and was not taking his medication.
The paper is also reporting that Hughes was charged with attempted murder in the mid-‘90s but was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
The stabbing of 70-year-old Susanne Thompson has some residents who live near Broad and Meadow in shock.
Many residents say they agree that the stabbing was a sad and bizarre crime and that it's not something they think will happen to them.
Police and say this crime was unusual. They say that although that area of Richmond is frequented by homeless people, but that there isn’t a large amount of criminal behavior.
However, some are saying it still serves as a reminder that you should always be aware of your surroundings.
McKenzie Raymond - whose boyfriend lives nearby - said she's been scared even before Saturday’s murder.
“There are so many suspect people that walk around this area,” Raymond said, “and it makes me really uncomfortable to come out and walk my dog, or walk to my car at night.”
And she says after this horrific crime, she'll be even more careful and will probably buy some mace.
Lots of feelings about this. I know he cannot help being mentally ill (but neither can innocent people on the street). He was charged with attempted murder in the 1990's and was found NGRI. My problem is that this mentally ill person has demonstrated a tremendous propensity for violence in the past and in my opinion should be living full time in a state mental hospital. He cannot be relied upon to take his meds and even though court ordered to do so, once someone is in the community there is very little control anyone has over his actions. I blame a lot of this on the deinstitutionalization movement and the near closure of state hospitals. Sure, most mentally ill folks aren't violent, but this one is and that is a known fact. Some people need to be institutionalized for life.This poor woman was a 70 yr old resident of an assisted living facility who was just walking her dog.

[Mira]

I agree, but what was a 70-yr-old woman living in an assisted living facility doing walking her dog? Where my mother lives in independent living, there is a bldg for assisted living. Those people can barely walk. This poor lady must have been in a minimum-level assisted living because most people in assisted living can barely walk and they certainly can't have a dog living with them

[greysfang]

There are any reasons why ambulatory patients live in assisted-living. Perhaps she forgets to take her medicines, perhaps insurance won't pay for independent-living, there are lots of possibilities.

[Mira]

Yeah, the parents of a friend of mine just moved into a really posh place because they can't remember their meds. Other than that, they don't need assisted living.

I hate to beat a dead horse, but we have the Reagan era to thank for this kind of stuff. That era precipitated the current trend and it looks like there is no end in sight. No profit in mental hospitals.

[crumpet]

There are different degrees of assisted living. Some facilities are like apartment complexes but next to hospitals and doctor's offices and have staff, sort of like a hotel but they have people to assist with meds or some personal care needs. Assisted living can be ideal for independent seniors who just aren't able to manage the upkeep of a home and need help with errands.