A Roseville teenager has been acquitted by reason of mental illness stemming from his attack that left his grandmother dead and two other immediate family members seriously wounded.
Matthew F. Hill, 18, was found not guilty last week in Ramsey County District Court due to his mental illness because the "preponderance of the evidence [was] that [Hill] did not understand his actions were morally wrong," Judge JaPaul Harris wrote in his order.
In a September bench trial in adult courton charges of second-murder and two assault counts, Harris concluded that Hill fatally stabbed and beat Patricia F. Maslow, 88, and badly injured his mother, 56-year-old Mary P. Hill, and his 24-year-old sister, Anna J. Hill.
Harris has ordered Hill detained in a state hospital or similar facility until civil commitment proceedings are complete.
Examinations by two doctors found that Hill was suffering from symptoms of schizophrenia at the time of the assaults on Oct. 25, 2022, at the house in the 1100 block of W. Ryan Avenue.
According to the charges:
Police arrived at the home and found Maslow in a hospital bed with stab wounds to her neck and a knife from a multi-tool device. Emergency responders declared her dead at the scene.
The officers found Mary P. Hill, in the living room with fractures to her face, skull, arm and hands, and a severe cut to her lower lip. Anna J. Hill was sitting on a couch and bleeding from head wounds.
