Crime & Safety

Murder Defendant 'Delusional,' Witness Says

A UCLA expert called by the defense testifies Robert Vasquez suffered various psychological disorders. Vasquez is accused of killing a San Juan Capistrano man.

Written by Penny Arévalo, posted by Roy Rivenburg

A UCLA psychology professor testified Monday that accused murderer Robert Vasquez suffered from assorted neurological and psychological conditions, including paranoia, schizoaffective disorder and Asperger Syndrome.

In addition, Vasquez's mother, Margo, told jurors her son was molested in his youth, although Senior Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh questioned her truthfulness by comparing her court comments to statements she made to Orange County Sheriff’s investigators shortly after the Dec. 1, 2011, murder of Bobby Ray Rainwater Jr. in a San Juan Capistrano mobile home park.

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Vasquez is charged with murder with a special circumstance for lying in wait. He’s also accused of nearly killing another San Juan Capistrano resident, Lance Lyons, two days later.

Monday was the first day of the defense’s case. The trial began last week. Minutes before the session broke for lunch, Baytieh began his cross-examination of Charles Hinkin, the university professor hired by the defense to evaluate Vasquez’s mental and psychological condition.

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Hinkin said he examined Vasquez’s school records at Capistrano Unified School District, his hospitalization records and interviews with sheriff’s investigators -- and conducted his own interview with the defendant.

Although school records indicate Vasquez had dyslexia and speech problems, as well as attention deficit disorder, Hinkin said many of the behaviors described by his mom fit with Asperger, a mild form of autism.

In addition, medical records after several suicide attempts indicate Vasquez may suffer from schizoaffective disorder, with symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, depression and illogical connection-making, Hinkin said.

Hinkin acknowledged repeated methamphetamine use could also show these symptoms, but said in Vasquez’s case, the drugs made an existing condition worse.

“It’s like throwing gasoline on a fire. It takes a bad thing and makes it worse,” he said, adding that Vasquez showed signs of mental illness both before starting drugs and after being off them a year while incarcerated.

Other incidents may also have contributed to the mental condition that ultimately led to the attack on Rainwater, Hinkin said, citing separate molestation accounts when Vasquez was a boy and a car-versus-bicycle accident in 2010.

Margo Vasquez testified her son was molested during speech therapy as a young boy and later, before puberty, by older boys.

But on this and several other points, Baytieh played tape-recorded interviews between Margo Vasquez and sheriff’s deputies which seemed to contradict her testimony.

On Dec. 5, 2011, she told investigators her son had a happy childhood, was well-liked by his teachers and had no problems that could explain a vicious attack on the next-door neighbor.

She also described Vasquez’s mood the night before the murder as “fine,” although in court she told the jury he had used meth that day or evening and went “blank,” completely nonresponsive.

Margo Vasquez said she didn’t lie to investigators and didn’t lie to the court. At the time of the Dec. 5, 2011, interview, she was simply confused, she said.

“I had so many questions coming at me. Sometimes I do get confused,” she said.



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