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Thread: Eric Knox Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity in 2009 OK Slaying of Stacey Beasley

  1. #1
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Eric Knox Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity in 2009 OK Slaying of Stacey Beasley

    DA seeks death penalty at homicide hearing

    Last December, Eric Knox was arrested for the death of Herb Beesley's sister, Stacey. Police say her fiance, Knox, stabbed her in their Midwest City apartment. They say she was four months away from giving birth to her first child.

    Herb Beesley, victim's brother, said, "It feels like it was yesterday. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of my sister Stacey. I have a 4-year-old little girl that asks about her. If that doesn't tear you up inside, i don't know what will."

    Knox is now facing two counts of first degree murder for killing Beesley and her unborn child. Friday at his hearing at the Oklahoma County Courthouse, the DA said he planned to seek the death penalty.

    http://www.kfor.com/news/local/kfor-news-homicide-hearing-story,0,313234.story?track=rss

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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Family remembers murder of loved one at Christmas

    The Christmas season is not a particularly joyful time for the Beesley family. It's filled with painful memories of what happened one year ago just before Christmas Day. December 21, 2009, 24-year-old Stacey Beesley was found brutally murdered at the Willow Creek Apartments in Midwest City.

    Her fiancee, Eric Knox, was arrested and charged with two counts of first degree murder.

    The second charge was for Stacey's unborn daughter, Zoe.

    Stacey's brother, Herb Beesley, says it's hard to believe an entire year has passed.

    He says, "I went there and gathered up all her belongings right there at Christmas and that was pretty hard."

    Last Christmas, the family was having Stacey's funeral.

    This Christmas, Herb says they hope to tell fun stories about the outgoing girl with a bright smile who always made sure her nieces and nephews had a gift under the tree.

    "It may be next to nothing, but she would make sure they all had got a present and she did that Christmas, Easter, you know, she was always very very giving."

    Herb says they are hopeful that Knox will go to trial as early as next spring and that he will receive the death penalty for the crime.

    "I just want people to remember Stacey and who she was and what had happened," said Herb.

    Herb says Knox has taken several tests to make sure that he is competent to stand trial, and that he has been found to be competent every time.

    http://www.kfor.com/news/local/kfor-...,5560836.story

  3. #3
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    Knox's Attorney Requests Third Sanity Exam

    A man charged in the death of his girlfriend and an unborn baby may be able to use the insanity as his defense.

    Eric Knox, 29, has been proved sane twice, investigators said.

    Knox faces the death penalty after being charged on two counts of murder in the death of his pregnant girlfriend, Stacey Beesley, in December 2009.

    Police said Beesley was found beaten to death in a Midwest City apartment the couple shared.

    Investigators said Knox has been evaluated twice by mental health physicians and both said he is competent to stand trial.

    Knox’s attorney said he needs a more comprehensive evaluation and requested a third doctor to interview Knox.

    Knox’s attorney said his client says strange comments that question his client’s sanity.

    A judge is expected to make a decision on the request sometime Thursday.

    http://www.koco.com/news/27543635/detail.html

  4. #4
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    A heartbroken mother speaks out after her daughter's killer avoids the death penalty. A judge ruled Eric Knox not guilty by reason of insanity last week in the murder of Stacey Beesley.
    It's been nearly four years since Beesley and her unborn child were killed. The judge's ruling came after three experts, including one hired by the state, found Eric Knox insane. Beesley's mother says this time, the justice system failed her family.

    "I know that the nightmares I see some nights will eventually turn to dreams of her being okay," Rose Ashley said.
    The nightmares began in December 2009 for Rose Ashley. Her daughter, 24-year-old Stacey Beesley was beaten to death in her Midwest City apartment. Beesley's fiance, Eric Knox, confessed to killing her and their unborn daughter Zoe.
    "Every Christmas and every birthday, I won't have my baby or her baby," Ashley said.
    Beesley's family and prosecutors wanted the death penalty for Knox. But after experts said Knox was insane, a judge found him not guilty by reason of insanity.

    "He was guilty, he is guilty, and it just tears me apart," Ashley said.
    Rose says she always had a bad feeling about Knox. She'd told her daughter that several times before.
    "We had a conversation in one of our talks that I told her I was terrified he was going to kill her, [that] one of these days the police would come and tell me she'd been killed," Ashley said.
    Knox confessed to police that he choked Stacey, stabbed her and beat her. He said the devil told him to do it.
    "I don't believe he was crazy at the time. I believe he got mad about something," Ashley says. "They've told me to have faith in the system, but it's failed me up to this point. I don't have a lot of faith in the system. I have faith in God."
    Along with her faith, she'll hold on to the memories of Stacey, the youngest of her four children.
    "I pray every night for strength to continue, and I pray to be able to forgive him, but I also pray for God to forgive me if I die before I do," Ashley said.
    Rose read a powerful impact statement in court, while she says Knox kept his head down and showed no emotion.
    Stacey Beesley would've turned 29 in December. Since Knox was found not guilty, he cannot be tried again.
    The state will monitor his mental status as he undergoes treatment at a hospital in Vinita.

    http://m.news9.com/Story.aspx?story=...4&catId=112032

  5. #5
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    Before his arrest, police said, Knox admitted: “I just murdered someone. I call her the devil.”
    Prosecutors had sought the death penalty.

    Knox's attorneys, David Slane and Paul Faulk, questioned Knox's mental competency and filed several motions seeking evaluations.

    “From the very first day that I walked into the cell with him, I knew that he was insane at that time,” Slane said. “It's tragic that it took three years for a lawyer to be able to prove that. That was the difficult part for us.”

    Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater said he couldn't pursue a trial against Knox after the prosecution's own psychiatrist determined Knox was insane at the time of the slayings.

    “We knew that if we went forward with any kind of a trial, we would even have our own expert testify that he was insane,” Prater said. “We had an ethical duty at that point to not in any way attempt to defend our position and ended up agreeing that he was in fact insane.”

    It would be rare if Knox is ever released from the Vinita center, Prater said.

    “He will be in a secure psychiatric facility that will periodically review his status,” Prater said. “It is very, very rare in this state where you have someone who has committed a murder — and especially as in this case a very violent, heinous murder — where they are actually ever released.”

    Prosecutors would oppose any reduction in his treatment level or his release if Knox was determined to no longer be a threat, Prater said.

    “It was justice that we didn't put someone on death row … because he was mentally ill,” Slane said. “The system did work and that's why he was found not guilty. The law does not need to be changed because he never had the intentions of taking a life. He was mentally insane at the time.”

    Rose Ashley said she will never forget that instead of celebrating her daughter's 26th birthday, she spent that day making funeral arrangements for her.

    “I will never be the happy person I once was,” she said.

    http://newsok.com/defendant-in-midwe...872089/?page=2

  6. #6
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    The judge had no other option than this but I can understand the family too, if the victim was my family member this ruling would break my heart.

  7. #7
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JimKay's Avatar
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