Massachusetts mental hospital rejected accused killer now dead: Cape Cod DA

The state’s mental institution refused to take a “suicidal” Adam Howe — accused of murdering his mother and burning her body on the front lawn in Truro — forcing authorities to send him to a jail where he later died, the DA said.

Howe, 34, “suffered a medical emergency in his cell” a day later in the Ash Street Jail in New Bedford after steps were taken to avoid just that, District Attorney Michael O’Keefe said in a statement Monday.

“Bridgewater (State Hospital) refused to take Mr. Howe saying they didn’t take Section 12 commitments. They would only take someone committed under Section 18,” O’Keefe said. Bridgewater houses the state’s criminally insane and is run by the Department of Correction.

Section 18 calls for a “person in charge” of a jail to call for an inmate to be seen at Bridgewater; where Section 12 is for “a physician” or another professional who can “apply for hospitalization” at a mental institution.

O’Keefe said State Police “contacted jails to see who would take” Howe while he was “shackled to a gurney after being examined and being watched by hospital personnel with eyes on him at all times.”

That was at 3 a.m. Saturday in the Cape Cod Hospital emergency room in Hyannis after Truro Police responded to a local home at about 9:30 p.m. on Friday on separate reports of a fire and a request for a well-being check.

“Upon arrival, they encountered a male subject outside the house and a fire on the front lawn,” police said. “As the emergency personnel realized that it was a body that was burning, the male subject ran into the house and locked the door. The Cape Cod Regional SWAT Team responded and ultimately made entry into the home, placing the subject into custody.”

O’Keefe said “evidence suggests” the victim was Susan Howe, 69 — the accused’s mother.

Adam Howe “experienced difficulty breathing” at the murder scene, O’Keefe added Monday, that that’s when he was taken to Cape Cod Hospital.

“An on-call judge was finally located at about 3 a.m. and she listened to the physician in charge of the emergency room and to the District Attorney, and issued an order under Section 12 of Chapter 123. The District Attorney then contacted Bridgewater to apprise them of the Judge’s order and the Judge’s willingness to speak with them directly,” O’Keefe added.

Howe was taken to the Ash Street Jail, and O’Keefe added the jail was given the “discharge summary from Cape Cod Hospital and a police report of the incident resulting in his mother’s death. Both of which indicated suicidal ideation.”

Adam Howe was found dead in his cell at approximately 5:14 p.m. Sunday.

Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson told the Herald Monday the death is under investigation.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/SXHufWC