Mentally ill man, 30, found not guilty of killing grandfather

A 30-year-old man who was charged with the stabbing death of his 82-year-old grandfather will go to a hospital psychiatric unit after a judge found him not guilty by reason of mental illness.

Ramsey County District Judge Dale Lindman said based on the evidence, which included reports from two mental health professionals, he would refer Timothy E. Novak's case to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office to begin a civil commitment proceeding.

Earl Gray, Novak's attorney, said his client's civil commitment would be "indefinite, until he gets well." On Monday, Novak was transferred from the St. Peter Security Hospital for his court appearance.

Novak had been civilly committed for mental health reasons last year and was living at a transitional care center when he killed Eugene Novak in his Roseville condominium last August, according to the second-degree murder charges.

Novak told police that he had been thinking about killing his grandfather for more than a year because he "had been taking his energy."

Eugene Novak was found by his son, Timothy Novak's uncle, on the morning of Aug. 24. When Timothy Novak returned to the scene at 2700 N. Dale St., he whispered to his uncle, "I did it."

Novak later told police that he choked his grandfather and stabbed him five times with a knife. Several times he made comments to police expressing regret that he had killed his grandfather, the charges said.

A forensic psychiatrist and a licensed psychologist both diagnosed Novak with schizophrenia, according to reports read before the court.

Novak's parents were in the courtroom Monday, but they were not allowed to hug their son.

LORA PABST