Defendant in Norwich voodoo murder case competent to stand trial
A Norwich man charged with fatally stabbing his pregnant wife in June 2016 because he said he thought she was practicing voodoo and was planning to kill him has been found competent to stand trial after spending five months at a state psychiatric hospital.
Patrick Antoine, 40, was returned to prison Tuesday to await trial on charges he murdered Margarette Mady on June 2, caused the death of her unborn baby girl and set fire to their apartment on Franklin Street.
He turned himself in to police the same day and was charged with murder and first-degree arson after admitting he had killed his wife, according to court documents. Mady was due to deliver a baby girl on July 1, and the prosecution added the charge of assault on a pregnant woman resulting in termination of the pregnancy.
In August, New London Superior Court Judge Hillary B. Strackbein ordered Antoine committed to the Whiting Forensic Division of Connecticut Valley Hospital after clinicians at the Garner Correctional Institution determined he could not understand the legal proceedings against him or assist in his defense.
After the crime, he told police he believed Mady was "a voodoo priestess" who planned to kill him by July 1 as a sacrifice before her baby girl was to be born. He also said he was hearing voices, that he believed things related to the devil were going on at his home and that someone was poisoning his food.
During his stay at Whiting, Antoine, who was diagnosed as psychotic, has been taking medication and gradually learning about the legal process through a Haitian Creole interpreter, according to a clinical report entered into evidence Tuesday during Antoine's court appearance. The clinical team that evaluated him agreed unanimously that he has no further need for inpatient psychiatric care and understands the legal process.
His attorney, Public Defender Kevin C. Barrs, and the prosecutor, David J. Smith, both stipulated to his competency, signaling that they are accepting the findings of the clinical team. They will begin pretrial negotiations on Feb. 1.
"You'll be coming back to court several more times while we decide whether we can resolve the case or go to trial," Strackbein told Antoine.
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