Stephen H. Kessler (born 1935) is a person who was known as the "LSD Killer".
Education
He attended
Harvard College and graduated class of '57, and was enrolled in
Downstate Medical School in 1964, but was asked to leave because of his unstable behaviour.
Trial
He was arrested in April 1966 and tried for murder in October, having apparently stabbed his mother-in-law 105 times. Headlines trumpeted him as a "Mad LSD Slayer" and "LSD Killer", based on a statement made during his arrest that he had been "flying for three days on
LSD". His LSD usage, a month prior, was not mentioned during the trial proceedings. His drug use was revealed as having been "one-and-a-half
grain
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
s of
phenobarbital" and "three quarts of lab alcohol".
Psychiatrists testified that he actually had chronic
paranoid schizophrenia and he was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
See also
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Maurice Edelbaum
Maurice Edelbaum (1906–1984) was an American criminal lawyer from New York.
Edelbaum was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was educated in New York City public schools before graduating from Fordham University School of Law in 1928. In 195 ...
, one of Kessler's lawyers
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kessler, Stephen H.
1935 births
Living people
Harvard College alumni
SUNY Downstate Medical Center alumni