Lawyer for Ohio man who stabbed daughter points to mental illness

COLUMBUS (AP) — A defense attorney says a man charged with fatally stabbing his 4-year-old daughter and her mother outside an Ohio home was affected by mental illness and was in a dissociative state when he attacked the girl.

The Columbus Dispatch reports the Franklin County prosecutor disputed that Tuesday at trial, telling jurors that Kristofer Garrett knew his actions were wrong when he killed 34-year-old Nicole Duckson and the girl in January 2018.

The 26-year-old Garrett pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in his daughter’s death. He also pleaded not guilty to another count of aggravated murder in the potential death-penalty case.

Defense lawyer Mark Hunt told jurors what Garrett did was horrific but that psychiatric evaluations will show he was “essentially gone” in a dissociative state at the time.