Samuel Turner, the man ruled insane in the 2007 slaying of Elizabeth Gomez, will return to a state mental hospital for at least another year, according to court records.
Two years ago, Turner was committed to a state mental health facility after a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity. At a review hearing last week, a judge continued the matter to Jan. 16, 2014.
Turner was accused of killing Gomez in March 2007. Gomez was found stabbed and strangled to death inside her apartment bedroom when police arrived, and Turner was found inside the apartment.
Turner, age 25 at the time and a resident of San Jose, was inside the apartment when they arrived, authorities said, and had suffered from a self-inflicted knife wound to the scrotum.
The case was postponed for years because of Turner’s deteriorating mental health and his lack of mental competency for trial.
In August 2008, Turner was ordered to take his first psychiatric test. More than two years later, he changed his plea to not guilty for reasons of insanity. After the change, prosecutors and the defendant’s attorney, public defender Harry Damkar, moved forward with a mental health evaluation and a recommendation of treatment. Turner was committed to a state mental health facility based on the mental health reports and an agreement from the district attorney’s office and the defendant.
Turner was sentenced to the mental health facility in January 2011 before members of the victim’s family – including Hollister City Councilman Victor Gomez, the victim’s brother.
If Turner was found guilty of homicide, he would have faced a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
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