By Raul Hernandez
Ventura County Star
Calvin Sharp's lawyer said Friday the evidence his client is insane is overwhelming, including the testimony of six mental health experts, two of whom were court-appointed psychologists who concluded he is a paranoid schizophrenic.
Attorney Todd Howeth, who is with the Public Defender's office, said dozens of people described Sharp as a kind, gentle and friendly person. Yet he took a meat clever and stabbed a 6-year-old boy to death along with stabbing the boy's mother, Sandra Ruiz, and a neighbor, Howeth said.
"Why would be hurt
those he loved and cared about?" He said to the judge. "And he tries to take
the heads off people he loved and cared about."
After 19 days of
trial, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Kevin DeNoce heard to closing
arguments from Howeth and prosecutor Maeve Fox in a sanity trial, which is a
civil proceeding.
Judge DeNoce said he
will rule and issue a decision in about two weeks on whether Sharp was insane
when he stabbed 6-year-old Sev'n Molina along with the boy's mother Sandra Ruiz
and a neighbor Diane Cox who tried to intervene.
Since there is a lower
legal standard in deciding a sanity hearing,
a judge determines whether it is more likely than not that Sharp was
insane. The higher legal standard is beyond a reasonable doubt and it is used in
criminal trials.
Prosecutor Maeve Fox
said the defense mental health experts are either lying or in denial. She said
Sharp was in a marijuana-induced and "fluctuating" psychosis, described him as
being troubled man who is faking mental illness.
"The defendant isn't
telling the truth about his own mental state," Fox told the judge. "He can't
keep his story straight."
Fox said Sharp is
malinger who witnesses said was stubborn, not intimidated and a 'spoiled" brat
who loved to dominate and demean women. She said Sharp was upset because Ruiz
had broken off a romantic relationship about six months before the attack and
was in a jealous rage because Ruiz was dating another man.
Sharp, who is a former
taxi cab driver and is in custody, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in
March 2009. In May 2009, the district attorney decided not to seek the death
penalty against Sharp. In November 2009, Sharp decided to change his plea to
guilty by reason of insanity to first-degree murder and two special circumstances along with other
felony crimes.
Sharp is also accused
of animal cruelty for killing his dog, Knuckles, before he
stabbed the boy, his mother and a neighbor.
Forty-five minutes
before the stabbings, Howeth said Sharp threw the dog he loved very much into
oncoming traffic because he believed the animal was a "vessel" and a demon had
entered into the vessel.
Howeth said eight
doctors including Dr. John Horton who was Sharp's family doctor and Dr. Lana Le
Chabrier, a psychiatrist hired by the district attorney who then testified
before the grand jury, along with four defense psychologists and two-court
appointed psychologists diagnosed Sharp as being paranoid schizophrenic.
Howeth said the
doctors concluding that Sharp was a "walking textbook" for paranoid schizophrenia
and insane when he committed the stabbings. Howeth said Sharp believed he was getting
radio signals from XM radio and was on a mission from God to eradicate demons
that were destroying mankind.
Sharp's mother, aunt,
nephews and nieces have mental illness issues and Sharp's wife, Jante and his
young children were aware that Sharp; was delusional.
Howeth said Sharp
loved Sev'n like a son but thought a demon was jumping from Ruiz to the boy and
Sharp heard the demon in Sev'n curse at him and say, "I hate you."
"He was on a mission
that was God-given, and he needed to eradicate demons from the world," said
Howeth. "He never talks about being jealous"
Howeth discredited and criticized the
testimony of Kris Mohandie who is a police psychologist who was hired by the
prosecution to examine Sharp.
Mohandie came up with
two reports in November 2009 and concluded that Sharp was insane when he killed
the dog but 45 minutes later he was sane when he stabbed the victims with a
meat clever.
Fox said discredited
the testimony of all the defense's mental health experts, noting that the
defense itself paid $173,000 to a psychiatrist and three psychologists to
testify and saying it is "witchcraft."
"It's a bunch of
voodoo, frankly," said Fox. "It's people's best guesses. It's not pure science"
Fox said there isn't
anything to indicate that Sharp was insane, saying that Mohandie's analysis was
correct that the long-term use of marijuana fueled Sharp's violent behavior.
Blood
tests taken after the slaying showed traces of marijuana and antidepressants in
Sharp's system, court documents show.
Howeth said Mohandie
testified that he has been paid $100,000 by the district attorney to testify in
three or four cases in the last five years. He said Mohandie has testified in
95 homicide cases in Ventura and other counties, noting that the $100,000 is 2
percent of his earnings, which, Howeth said, totals $5 million over five years.