Judge committs Honaker to state mental hospital for life

WARREN

Royce Honaker, 63, who killed his wife, Donna, on July 31, 2012, at their Southington Township home, is a mentally ill person who must be committed to a state mental hospital for as long as the rest of his life, a judge has ruled.

Judge Andrew Logan of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court committed Honaker Tuesday to Heartland Behavioral Healthcare Hospital in Massillon. He said Honaker will be evaluated in six months and then every two years to determine what level of care he should receive.

Judge Logan found Honaker not guilty by reason of insanity Nov. 10 after a trial lasting less than an hour. In the few months before the murder, Honaker was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and had been hospitalized, the judge said in his Nov. 10 ruling.

Honaker stood calmly during today’s hearing, a departure from his demeanor Nov. 10, when he cried through much of the hearing.

Read more about the case in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.