Daniel James Smith, 40, Greenfield
HANCOCK COUNTY — After taking time to evaluate the evidence in a murder trial, Judge D.J. Davis, Hancock County Superior Court 1 rendered his decision in the Daniel James Smith case late Wednesday afternoon. Davis determined that Smith was found to not be responsible for the murder of Freddie E. Patterson by reason of insanity.
Smith, 40, Greenfield, was accused of killing Patterson, 69, Greenfield, on Feb. 16, 2023, by repeatedly striking his face with a hammer. Officials noted that pre-trial work indicated Smith was competent to stand trial, but there were questions surrounding Smith’s mental capacity during the murder of his uncle.
Judge Davis noted the expert testimony by doctors was impressive and indicated Smith was insane at the time of the murder.
“Additionally, almost all lay witness testimony was that Daniel Smith’s actions indicated he was insane,” Judge Davis said in an email to the Daily Reporter. “Simply put, the evidence of Mr. Smith’s insanity was overwhelming.”
Hancock County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Aimee Herring had told the court during the bench trial in early September that Smith should be held accountable, found guilty of murder, but mentally ill. Smith’s Defense Attorney, Jeremy Teipen, requested the court find Smith not guilty of murder by reason of mental disease. In the end, Judge Davis agreed with Teipen.
“This was the verdict we were looking for, but overall it’s just a sad situation,” Teipen said. “These types of cases, nobody really wins.”
Teipen went on to say the verdict wasn’t really a “not guilty” verdict, but rather the guilt is excused because of Smith’s mental state during the murder.
“Daniel is seriously mentally ill,” Teipen said.
Herring said Wednesday was a long and difficult day, especially for the victim’s family.
“Judge Davis stated that, based upon the evidence presented at trial, he found it was clear the state had proven all the essential elements of murder beyond a reasonable doubt, which is the legal standard for a conviction. However, the Court noted that, due to the expert testimony provided by the three doctors hired by the court to evaluate Smith’s competency to stand trial and sanity at the time of the offense, the defense proved by a preponderance of the evidence that Smith was insane at the time that he committed the offense of murder,” Herring said.
Herring said that, while the defendant’s long-history of mental health issues was uncontroverted, the state believed Smith was aware of what he was doing when he was killing his uncle and that the conduct was wrong, negating the insanity defense.
“I am disappointed in the verdict but respect that the court had a very difficult decision to make,” Herring said.
Herring filed a petition for Involuntary Commitment during the hearing yesterday and the state will proceed with civil commitment proceedings in December, requesting Smith be committed to a state hospital for long-term mental health care and treatment.
“Cases involving the insanity defense are pretty rare and involve additional intricacies and time delays that are not present in other criminal cases, which can be even more taxing on the families of the victim,” Herring said.
Teipen eluded to the fact that Smith may not have been on the right medication on the night of the murder and that, with proper care, he could one day be a part of society.
“When you have these kinds of illnesses, people need to be on the right medication. When they’re a schizophrenic, an antidepressant isn’t going to do it,” Teipen said.
According to court records, the commitment hearing for Smith has been slated for Tuesday, 11 a.m. Dec. 3. Smith will remain in the Hancock County Jail until that time.
“I fully suspect he’s going to be committed,” Teipen said. “Just for his own safety and the safety for the community, he needs to be committed and the Department of Mental Health has a lot more tools to access to make sure he gets the therapy treatment he needs and to obviously make sure he is on the right medication.”
Teipen went on to say he was pleased Judge Davis took the time to evaluate the case and saw the facts of the case the way his office did.
According to a probable cause affidavit, officials from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department and Greenfield Police Department responded to a 911 call stating someone was dead at a home located in the 5600 block of East U.S. 40, Greenfield, Feb. 16, 2023.
According to the affidavit, upon arrival, officials spoke with a woman, Smith’s mother, who said there was an unresponsive male sitting in a chair in the living room.
The male, identified later as Patterson, had severe facial trauma and was not breathing, officials said in the affidavit. The woman told officials her son, Smith, was also in the house. When Smith eventually walked outside to surrender with his hands held up, officials noticed he was wet from head to toe, covered in water.
Officials took Smith’s mother to the Sheriff’s office for an interview, and she told them the man in the chair was her half brother, Patterson, and that three people, including herself, her son Smith and Patterson, had lived in the residence since 2012, the affidavit said.
Smith’s mother told officials she went to bed around 9 p.m. She was then awakened by a banging sound. When she went to see what it was, she told officials her son, Smith, walked past her and into the bathroom. She then stated “Fred” was in the chair, and she called out “Fred” but then saw his face was smashed in, the affidavit said.
Smith’s mother noted she immediately called 911 and went to the front door to wait for officials and while there she could hear water running in the bathroom. The woman noted her son and Fred did not have a good relationship, the affidavit said.
Both the state and defense agreed Smith was suffering from a mental disease which impaired his thoughts and behaviors at the time he murdered his uncle, leaving the court to determine whether the mental disease made Smith unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct.
Judge Davis noted, both the state and the defense seemed to expect the outcome, as once the announcement was made, that Daniel Smith was not responsible by reason of insanity at the time of the offense as the state had the commitment request ready to file.
