Ever seen a shrink? Know someone who has — or should?
Prospective jurors in a schizophrenic’s meat-cleaver slaying of an Upper East Side psychiatrist are being probed about their own mental health experiences as jury selection gears up in a sensational Manhattan murder trial.
Nearly half of the 25 prospects grilled today in the disturbing case of off-his-meds slasher David Tarloff conceded in open court that they, or someone close to them, have had some need for counseling. A fifth of the prospects said they knew someone who suffered a serious mental illness.
“But not everyone who has a mental health issue gets a blank check to commit a crime — does that make sense to you?” prosecutor Evan Krutoy asked prospective jurors, who nodded “yes” in agreement.
It’s an insanity-defense case where both the killer and the victim — Dr. Kathryn Faughey, hacked to death in her East 79th Street office during a botched robbery five years ago — lived lives immersed in mental health concerns. And so both prosecutors and defense lawyers are all checking prospective jurors for biases.
Tarloff himself is the unofficial Exhibit A of jury selection; the former telemarketer from Queens rocks slightly but continually in his chair at the defense table, his blue eyes wide in a look of apparent alarm.
“He planned it, he cased the place beforehand, and he was determined that no one was going to stop him,” the victim’s brother, Owen, 62, said after court yesterday. “That doesn’t show complete insanity — he had a mission.”
Among the questions in the trial’s jury questionnaire: “Have you, a family member, or a close friend ever been treated by a psychiatric, psychologist, therapist or counselor?” And, “If “Yes,” please explain the issue for which you, your relative or friend received treatment.” Jury selection continues tomorrow before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Edward McLaughlin, with openings slated for Monday.