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Judge asks of murder suspect: ‘Is he fit or unfit?’

Psychologist thinks defendant might be inflating symptoms

Murder suspect Stephen B. Schmidt appears at a hearing in 2nd Circuit Court on Monday to determine if he is mentally fit to stand trial. The Maui News / LILA FUJIMOTO photo

WAILUKU — Although murder suspect Stephen B. Schmidt’s responses to questions suggested he was mentally unfit, a psychologist said that he suspected the defendant was exaggerating psychiatric symptoms.

“He was presenting something that didn’t quite fit,” said psychologist George Choi, who examined Schmidt as part of determining whether he is mentally fit to proceed in his court case.

“Is he fit or unfit?” 2nd Circuit Judge Richard Bissen asked Choi, who testified Monday during a hearing on Schmidt’s fitness.

“That’s a difficult question to answer,” Choi said. “I believe that he’s fit. To what degree he’s fit, I’m not sure.”

Schmidt, 45, of Kahului has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder of his estranged wife, 24-year-old Kehau Farias Schmidt, who had obtained a court order for protection that prohibited Schmidt from contacting her. She died after her throat was slit in the Foodland Kehalani store while she and a friend were shopping there the evening of April 19, 2016.

Bystanders who tried to help Farias Schmidt were stabbed and cut several times, police said.

Proceedings in Schmidt’s case have been suspended while he was being examined by three psychiatrists or psychologists to determine his mental fitness to proceed.

After the three doctors provided reports on their findings to the court, defense attorney Chris Dunn last month asked the court to declare Schmidt mentally unfit and to send him to the Hawaii State Hospital to be treated until he regains fitness.

Deputy Prosecutor Andrew Martin opposed the request, saying the doctors’ reports referred to a “strong suspicion” that Schmidt was malingering, or faking mental illness.

After Choi testified Monday, the hearing was scheduled to resume June 14 with testimony by the two other doctors who examined Schmidt.

Choi said he reviewed about 600 pages of records, including Schmidt’s medical, psychiatric and criminal history, before interviewing the defendant for about two hours Oct. 6 in a visiting room at the Maui Community Correctional Center.

“He was difficult to engage,” Choi said. “He was sullen.”

He said Schmidt had his head down and was “not very conversant.”

But Schmidt understood and followed all of the psychiatrist’s directions, Choi said.

He said Schmidt gave an incorrect birth date and answered that he didn’t know when asked some other questions, although there were no records indicating he had any kind of intellectual impairment.

Schmidt didn’t know the names of several medications he was taking but knew what they were for, Choi said.

In the portion of the interview relating to Schmidt’s fitness to proceed, Schmidt answered the first two or three questions, then began responding, “I don’t know, I don’t know,” or gave answers with little detail, Choi said.

“It raised a question in my mind in terms of his motivation, his cooperation and his truthfulness,” Choi said.

He said Schmidt reported having auditory, command and visual hallucinations. At one point while they were talking about auditory hallucinations, Schmidt told the psychologist, “You just called me stupid right now,” as if to emphasize that he was hearing nonexistent voices, Choi said.

When Choi asked if Schmidt was hearing voices inside or outside his head, he said both, as if to “cover both bases,” Choi said. He said most of the time schizophrenics report hearing voices outside their heads.

Choi said he then administered a screening tool to try to determine whether Schmidt was malingering.

“It kind of supported my suspicion that the person was overreporting psychiatric symptoms,” Choi said.

He said he suspected Schmidt was trying to give the impression “that he is less capable than he really is.”

When Dunn asked about Schmidt’s previous diagnosis of a mental disorder while he lived on Oahu in 2001, Choi said that the defendant had a history of methamphetamine-induced psychosis.

Schmidt said he didn’t know the purpose of his interview with the psychologist and also said he distrusts lawyers and didn’t understand the possible defenses in his case, Choi said.

Choi diagnosed Schmidt as having “adjustment disorder, depressed mood.”

“He was very sad about losing his wife, denied that he killed her and that he would do anything to hurt her,” Choi said.

After Schmidt urinated on himself during the interview, Choi asked what happened and Schmidt responded, “I got scared.”

“Prior to that, he stood up and kind of took a peek at me before that actually happened,” Choi said.

“We have sort of this conundrum with Mr. Schmidt where all of his responses would lead one to believe he’s unfit?” Dunn asked.

“Yes,” Choi replied.“But there are other things that trouble you because there are some inconsistencies that bring doubt into your mind?” Dunn asked.“Yes,” Choi said.

Choi said “it’s reasonable to think he’s malingering.”

Dunn asked if Choi could say Schmidt was fit to go to trial in his case.

“Not 100 percent,” Choi said.

Under questioning by Martin, Choi said his opinion about Schmidt’s fitness wasn’t based on any one thing but included the review of records and totality of the circumstances.

The records documented Schmidt’s 25 visits to the Maui Memorial Medical Center emergency room and to a health clinic from October 2013 to April 10, 2016, about a week before Farias Schmidt was killed.

Choi acknowledged that most of the visits were for issues of pain, and Schmidt often left with prescription pain medication.

Choi said he also reviewed notes from Schmidt’s Sept. 6 visit to a jail psychiatrist where he was described as being “vague about his symptoms but very demanding about what medications he wants.”

Choi, who estimated he has done about 400 forensic examinations for fitness in 25 years, said it was possible for a defendant to have a current psychiatric diagnosis and still be mentally fit to proceed.

Schmidt is being held without bail at the Maui Community Correctional Center.

In addition to first-degree murder, he is charged with attempted first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder and first-degree terroristic threatening.

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.

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