Post by admin on Jul 27, 2007 15:32:57 GMT -5
In case you missed it, from the Thursday July 26th edition of the Star Ledger...
Killer doctor causes alarm in new town
Monmouth Beach unaware Hagen bought house there
Thursday, July 26, 2007
BY MARGARET McHUGH
Star-Ledger Staff
A doctor who was insane when she killed her parents in Chatham Township is now causing a stir in Monmouth Beach, where she bought a home last year and spends time when she's allowed to leave a psychiatric hospital.
When Monmouth Beach Commissioner Kim Guadagno learned two weeks ago that Kathleen Hagen was living in the borough, she called the police chief, only to discover he didn't know, Guadagno said.
At Guadagno's urging, Assemblyman Sean Kean (R-11th Dist.) today will announce that he is introducing legislation to require psychiatric hospitals to notify police departments when a killer found innocent by reason of insanity is re leased into a community.
"At a minimum, the local law enforcement agency should know," Kean said.
Kean said "it's a delicate situation" because Hagen was found not guilty, but when you balance her rights and the community's concern, the minimal notification makes sense.
Sen. Joseph Palaia (R-Mon mouth) is co-sponsoring the legislation, but Kean said he expects strong bipartisan support.
"It's a big concern when somebody is furloughed to a residential community ... and nobody knows about it," said Guadagno, a candidate for Monmouth County sheriff.
Guadagno, a former state and federal prosecutor, pointed out that parolees who commit any sort of crime must notify the local department when they move into a community.
Guadagno said a neighbor of Hagen's Googled Hagen's name a few weeks ago and discovered that she had suffocated her parents in August 2000. Hagen was found innocent by reason of insanity in 2002.
Hagen, 61, bought the two-bedroom house last August, in her preparations for discharge from Trenton Psychiatric Hospital. Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Falcone had been upset to learn that Hagen did so without the hospital staff knowing about it.
Hagen may soon be released from the hospital. In March, two mental health experts told Falcone that the Harvard-trained doctor was ready for discharge once community supports were in place. That, they predicted, could happen by September.
Doctors say Hagen has been psychosis-free for years, and no longer needs anti-psychotic drugs.
Her psychiatrist and psychologist at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital testified that she is no longer a danger to herself or others -- a standard that must be met for a person found innocent of a crime to get released from the custody of the Department of Human Services.
Hagen killed her 86-year-old father, James, and 92-year-old mother, Idella, as they slept in their twin beds. She first placed a pillow and plastic over her father's face, and when he was dead, did the same to her mother.
Hagen stayed with the bodies for nearly a week before calling police, performing bizarre rituals like blindfolding herself and walking in circles.
Hagen has said she believed she was saving her parents, as "an all- commanding voice" told her. She said she thought she could transport the three of them to another sphere, where they could live happily.
Hagen currently is allowed to stay at her home overnight twice a month as long as another adult is there for supervision. She also gets two 10-hour day passes.
Margaret McHugh may be reached at mmchugh@starledger.com or (973) 539-7119.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Monmouth County Republican Party
rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=vhj7zccab.0.gqii7sbab.64uixsbab.755&ts=S0263&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.MonmouthRepublican.org
info@MonmouthRepublican.org
732.431.6664
Killer doctor causes alarm in new town
Monmouth Beach unaware Hagen bought house there
Thursday, July 26, 2007
BY MARGARET McHUGH
Star-Ledger Staff
A doctor who was insane when she killed her parents in Chatham Township is now causing a stir in Monmouth Beach, where she bought a home last year and spends time when she's allowed to leave a psychiatric hospital.
When Monmouth Beach Commissioner Kim Guadagno learned two weeks ago that Kathleen Hagen was living in the borough, she called the police chief, only to discover he didn't know, Guadagno said.
At Guadagno's urging, Assemblyman Sean Kean (R-11th Dist.) today will announce that he is introducing legislation to require psychiatric hospitals to notify police departments when a killer found innocent by reason of insanity is re leased into a community.
"At a minimum, the local law enforcement agency should know," Kean said.
Kean said "it's a delicate situation" because Hagen was found not guilty, but when you balance her rights and the community's concern, the minimal notification makes sense.
Sen. Joseph Palaia (R-Mon mouth) is co-sponsoring the legislation, but Kean said he expects strong bipartisan support.
"It's a big concern when somebody is furloughed to a residential community ... and nobody knows about it," said Guadagno, a candidate for Monmouth County sheriff.
Guadagno, a former state and federal prosecutor, pointed out that parolees who commit any sort of crime must notify the local department when they move into a community.
Guadagno said a neighbor of Hagen's Googled Hagen's name a few weeks ago and discovered that she had suffocated her parents in August 2000. Hagen was found innocent by reason of insanity in 2002.
Hagen, 61, bought the two-bedroom house last August, in her preparations for discharge from Trenton Psychiatric Hospital. Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Falcone had been upset to learn that Hagen did so without the hospital staff knowing about it.
Hagen may soon be released from the hospital. In March, two mental health experts told Falcone that the Harvard-trained doctor was ready for discharge once community supports were in place. That, they predicted, could happen by September.
Doctors say Hagen has been psychosis-free for years, and no longer needs anti-psychotic drugs.
Her psychiatrist and psychologist at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital testified that she is no longer a danger to herself or others -- a standard that must be met for a person found innocent of a crime to get released from the custody of the Department of Human Services.
Hagen killed her 86-year-old father, James, and 92-year-old mother, Idella, as they slept in their twin beds. She first placed a pillow and plastic over her father's face, and when he was dead, did the same to her mother.
Hagen stayed with the bodies for nearly a week before calling police, performing bizarre rituals like blindfolding herself and walking in circles.
Hagen has said she believed she was saving her parents, as "an all- commanding voice" told her. She said she thought she could transport the three of them to another sphere, where they could live happily.
Hagen currently is allowed to stay at her home overnight twice a month as long as another adult is there for supervision. She also gets two 10-hour day passes.
Margaret McHugh may be reached at mmchugh@starledger.com or (973) 539-7119.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Monmouth County Republican Party
rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=vhj7zccab.0.gqii7sbab.64uixsbab.755&ts=S0263&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.MonmouthRepublican.org
info@MonmouthRepublican.org
732.431.6664
