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Court to fund psychiatric tests for murder, arson suspects

A judge Friday approved a request by murder and arson suspects Crystal Lujan and Dale Lipke for court-funded psychiatric exams to see whether they may plead insanity for the 16 charges they face.

Defense attorneys for Lujan, an LSA sophomore, and Lipke, 23, cited the need for court assistance due to a lack of funds, and said there was a need to explore all possible defenses.

"I want my client to have the benefit of what science has to offer," Lujan's attorney, John M. Toomey, told Washtenaw Circuit Court Judge Melinda Morris. "I want to be able to make use of what pleas and defenses are available."

Toomey, who filed a brief prior to Friday's pretrial hearing, wrote that while Lujan has been found competent to stand trial, he wishes to evaluate Lujan's mental state as of the time the crimes occurred, in mid-September.

"The claimed crime scenarios, and police reports reflect a pattern of claimed bizarre behavior," Toomey wrote in a Jan. 17 brief. "Several of the prosecution witnesses have referred to (Lujan) as `crazy.' ... (Lujan) claims a past history of psychiatric problems, and further claims to have been diagnosed for psychiatric problems and disorders in her recent past."

In an Oct. 28 letter to Washtenaw District Court Judge John Collins, Lujan wrote about having mental disorders and denied charges that she killed a Superior Township man.

"I am aware that I have been portrayed as an evil, dangerous person; but I am not," Lujan wrote. "I am someone who lives with my mother and my child. I have an illness that causes me to have hallucinations, hear voices, and have large gaps in memory, as well as having trouble differentiating truth and reality from lies and make believe.

"But these things do not make me a bad person. As long as I take my medication, I function was well as anyone else," she wrote. "I am aware of the cases the police suspect me in. Although I am sure you have heard this a thousand times but I am not guilty of these accusations."

Morris set a second pretrial hearing for March 27 at 1:30 p.m., giving defense attorneys time to review transcripts of the lengthy preliminary hearings and an opportunity to review psychiatric findings. Toomey and Randall Roberts, who represents Lipke, said they plan to file several motions in March.

Steve Hiller, a prosecution lawyer, said in court that he expects the trial to be quite lengthy. He said prosecutors currently wish to call 48 witnesses, eight of whom are experts. He also said the prosecution may call as many as 60 of 125 potential witnesses.

"There is either going to be one massive trial or several massive trials," Hiller said Friday. "It is not a case that can be tried in a week, even if we have a week of full days."

Hiller said he plans to request blood samples of each defendant.

Lujan and Lipke sat quietly during Friday's hearing, whispering to each other at various points. Lujan's mother, who had been present at the preliminary hearings, was not in court Friday.

Meanwhile, representatives of the estate of the Superior Township man, Daniel P. Rice, have indicated plans to tear down Rice's house to liquidate the property. Hiller said that if the defense attorneys would like to see the crime scene, they would have to do so soon. Rice's body was found on a couch in the house's living room.