Defense questions witnesses on past interactions with Mitchell

SALT LAKE CITY — The trial of Brian David Mitchell, accused of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart, resumed Monday following a one week break for Thanksgiving.

Three witnesses testified during the first morning segment about their interactions with Mitchell in the past, including a social worker and an attorney who said he believed Mitchell was mentally ill when he represented him in California.

Defense questions witnesses on Mitchell's mental state

David Lamb, a deputy public defender in San Diego, was assigned to represent Mitchell when he was arrested in 2003 for breaking into a church. Mitchell told Lamb and the judge that his name was Michael Jensen. He compared his arrest to Jonah being swallowed by the whale and was very apologetic to the judge, claiming he'd never do that again.

Because of the religious tones in his speech, Lamb said he thought Mitchell was mentally ill. But because the charges were so minor and a deal had essentially already been worked out, Lamb said he didn't think the situation called for raising an insanity defense.

All Mitchell had to do at that time was recognize the charges against him and acknowledge that Lamb was his lawyer, Lamb said.

Lamb had been interviewed by prosecutors and defense attorneys prior to his testimony Monday. But the prosecution, during cross-examination, said Lamb never mentioned in their interview with him that he thought that Mitchell was mentally ill.

Lamb's explanation was because the government never asked.

"You knew that a mental health issue was involved," said prosecutor Felice Viti.

"Yes," Lamb replied.

But because a direct question was not asked, the attorney said he did not offer his opinion about Mitchell's mental state.

Leroy Franke testified that he met a 16-year-old Mitchell in 1970, when Franke was working as a social worker in 2nd District Juvenile Court. Mitchell was sent to court after exposing himself to a young girl and asking her to touch his genitals.

Franke said he thought there could be a mental health issue with Mitchell. He testified Mitchell had been a typical teenager before something changed, and he began frightening his mother and siblings. He described the teen's behavior as "bizarre," his thought process as "irrational," and said Mitchell's behavior grew increasingly worse.

"Brian basically became more withdrawn, and then more violent toward his family and his siblings; threats ... to the point that his mom and his siblings were afraid of him during that time," Franke said.

Mitchell told his mother at one point that he would kill her by pushing her down the stairs and no one would ever know. Franke said he felt Mitchell was also possibly a good manipulator, but noted, "I think people with mental health issues can be manipulative."

Two administrators and a psychiatrist from the Utah State Hospital also took the stand Monday. One said he had diagnosed Mitchell with "delusional disorder." The psychiatrist said he observed manipulative behavior by Mitchell.

Don Rosenbaum, an administrator at the Utah State Hospital, was working as a unit administrator in 2003 when Mitchell was brought there for a 30-day evaluation following his arrest for kidnapping Smart. He said Mitchell spoke to him very little during that time.

At one point, however, Rosenbaum said he tried talking to Mitchell about his Book of Immanuel manuscript and told him he thought there were inconsistencies in it. That comment made Mitchell visibly angry and he told Rosenbaum to repent.

During another encounter, Mitchell screamed at him, "Repent ye, repent!" Rosenbaum said the outburst was loud enough to shock him.

During cross-examination, prosecutors questioned whether Mitchell yelled simply in order to prove that he could grab Rosenbaum's attention.

Mitchell was once again escorted from the courtroom for disruptive singing Monday. He was taken to a nearby annex to witness the proceedings.

Expert testimony phase expected next

The trial is expected to move into the expert testimony phase, with psychiatrists and psychologists trying to explain to a jury why they believe, or do not believe, Mitchell was mentally incompetent at the time he kidnapped Smart and held her hostage for nine months.

The testimony from expert witnesses will be key to Mitchell's insanity defense.

Before expert witnesses are called, however, the defense may call convicted child rapist John Perry Chaney to the witness stand.

Over the holiday break, Mitchell's attorneys made several filings in federal court, including a revised witness list. The defense's proposed list now has 31 possible witnesses, up from their original list of 24.

Included on the new list is Chaney. An order was also filed for Chaney to be transported from the Utah State Prison where he is serving a five-years-to-life sentence. He was expected to testify Monday, according to the court filing.

In 1997, Chaney was convicted on three first-degree felony rape charges for performing a marriage ceremony in 1993 between his 13-year-old daughter and a 48-year-old friend. Utah prosecutors say Chaney performed the marriage so the two would have sex, which they did about 50 times in the next few months following the ceremony. Chaney himself married a 14-year-old girl and fathered a child with her in 1996.

Chaney claimed the wedding was a religious act ordered by God and that the state had no jurisdiction in the establishment of religion. During his sentencing, followers of Chaney disrupted the court proceedings by demanding the arrest of the judge and other court personnel.

Prosecutors were also busy filing court papers during the break. The U.S. government filed a notice of intent to inform the court that it planned to introduce "recently discovered" evidence. That evidence included Mitchell taking nude photographs of his stepdaughter while she was bathing and Mitchell placing dead mice in the oven in an attempt to terrorize his second wife.

The evidence will be used to "rebut the defendant's anticipated claim of insanity by showing a pattern of behavior consistent with personality disorders and sexual deviancy, rather than a severe mental illness," prosecutors wrote.

Psychiatric experts to be called

When the defense calls its expert witnesses, its list includes Dr. Richart DeMier, a clinical psychologist who evaluated Mitchell at the U.S. Medical Center in Springfield, Mo., after Mitchell was transferred from state to federal custody in 2008 and prior to his federal competency hearing in 2009. He originally diagnosed Mitchell with paranoid schizophrenia and said he was not competent to stand trial because he did not have a rational understanding of the court proceedings and could not assist rationally in his defense.

Mitchell's attending physician at the Utah State Hospital, Dr. Paul Whitehead, did not issue an opinion as to whether Mitchell was competent to stand trial. But during the competency hearing, he painted a much different picture of the former street preacher than witnesses for the government had. Whitehead did not find Mitchell to be as clever or manipulative as others have, instead using words such as "naive" and "inept" to describe Mitchell and some of his behavior.

"I saw him as naive, especially as someone trying to stay below the radar as a pedophile," Whitehead said in 2009.

Whitehead diagnosed Mitchell as having a delusional disorder complicated by substance abuse. Still, he admitted that his team was close to finding Mitchell competent for trial in 2009 and believed he could enter a courtroom and control his singing if he wanted to.

Dr. Stephen Golding, a veteran forensic psychologist, has testified in such cases as the competency of convicted killers Ronald Lafferty and Ronnie Lee Gardner. Golding, who testified Lafferty was competent, believes Mitchell is incompetent to stand trial for kidnapping and raping Smart. He has testified in each of Mitchell's state and federal competency hearings.

Judge to address references to competency hearings

At the end of court proceedings Monday, the prosecution raised concerns that the defense had opened the door to discuss Mitchell's competency hearings -- something both sides had agreed to leave out of the trial.

The judge said he would address the issue Tuesday morning.

Now, the defense will have to do damage control.

"We're going to have to address that as simply as we can, that's right. As simply as we can," said defense attorney Robert Steele.

------

Story compiled with contributions from Pat Reavy and Jennifer Stagg.

Related topics