Document text
On trial: killer�s mental state It�s the only fact in dispute in his cousin�s death By Dani Dodge Even his own attorneys admit that Mark Fernandez murdered his cousin Jaime Fernandez on Oct. 16, 1999. The question for a jury this week: Was he sane when he did it? "This is about the darkest nightmare anyone suffering from mental illness can have � to commit an unspeakable act," said Fernandez�s attorney Don Scales. "Not much about the facts in the case are in dispute � what is in dispute was Mark�s mental state at the time of the incident." As Fernandez�s trial began in Jackson County Court on Tuesday, defense attorneys argued that Fernandez was insane when he bludgeoned to death his 20-year-old cousin. But prosecutor Judi Harper asserts that Fernandez�s actions after the murder � washing the blood out of the driveway, hiding the body in the back of his pickup truck, driving 37 miles to a remote location and burying Jaime in a shallow grave � all show the shrewd calculation of a man who knew right from wrong and chose wrong. If convicted of murder, Fernandez, 28, of Prospect, faces a mandatory 25-year sentence, without the possibility of parole. He also faces charges of first-degree kidnapping, and second-degree kidnapping. His attorneys, though, are seeking a conviction of "guilty, but insane." That would put Fernandez in the lifetime custody of the state Psychiatric Security Review Board, which could release him from the state hospital whenever they deem it appropriate. In his opening statement, Scales claimed that before the murder occurred, Mark Fernandez had complained of delusions, such as being followed by the Mexican Mafia and hearing his house talk. Harper said that while Mark Fernandez had been in treatment for drug and alcohol addiction, he had "no prior mental health diagnosis." Jaime�s last day of life started out normally, according to Harper and various family members who testified Tuesday. He was recovering from a near-fatal auto accident the year before at the family�s suburban Eagle Point home. He�d only recently started eating again because he lost his stomach in the accident; he�d been hooked to an "eating machine." Jaime had his last surgery two days before he died, a surgery to correct damage in his eye from a serious spleen infection. He weighed only about 110 pounds, was still weak, and couldn�t walk well, his mother, Lori Fernandez, said. Because of frail health, he wouldn�t have left the house without her, his mother said. Yet when she got home from work at 3:15 p.m. that Friday, her birthday, Jaime wasn�t home. The dark glasses he wore to protect his eyes were. So were his shoes and his wallet, she said. The motive for the murder has never been publicized, but in response to Harper�s questioning, Lori Fernandez said that everyone had shown Jaime great affection and love since his accident. Mark Fernandez had been at the house that morning and left in a huff, Harper said. His departure was so abrupt that Jaime�s sister Candace Fernandez asked her brother about it. She testified that Jaime said Mark Fernandez had wanted his cousin to accompany him to an AA meeting, but Jaime didn�t want to go. Apparently, no one else was home when Mark Fernandez returned that afternoon. It wasn�t until the next day that the family spotted blood in the grass on their lawn. Jaime�s brother, Brandon Fernandez, also noticed that a decorative brick in the landscaping was upside down. When he examined it, he saw hair and blood. They called police. More splatters of blood were found on the family�s garage. As the family testified, even pointing out that Fernandez used to come over occasionally for dinner, Fernandez�s face was set in a grim, anguished stare. Occasionally, he put his head face-down on the defense table. The trial is expected to conclude this week. Reach reporter Dani Dodge at 776-4471, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.