Connecticut cannibal killer given conditional release after 2011 murder in which he ate victim's brain, eye
An institutionalized man who confessed to the 2011 killing of a homeless man in Connecticut in which he also ate the victim's body parts in a cemetery was granted a conditional release.
Tyree Smith was granted a conditional release by the Nutmeg State's Psychiatric Security Review Board on Friday, allowing him to leave Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown, although he will remain under supervision and will continue to receive mental health services, according to WFSB.
Smith's doctor said the cannibal killer has been rehabilitated and is taking medications to help with psychosis and voices in his head, the outlet reported.
"To quote the director there, he is a joy. He is considered a support to the other people there," forensic psychiatrist Caren Teitelbaum said. "Once he was stable, he was a really calming presence for other patients."
"He has maintained clinical stability. Adhered to the medications and continued to engage in group and substance abuse treatment," Teitelbaum added. "He also denied visual hallucinations and a desire to harm others or himself."
But others, including GOP state Sen. Paul Cicarella, contested that Smith should remain under close watch in a hospital.
"Murder and cannibalism and release in the same sentence. That's a problem. That's concerning to me," he told WFSB.
Cicarella and fellow Republican state Sens. Henry Martin, Heather Somers and Stephen Harding called the decision "outrageous" and "mind-boggling."
"This individual killed and ate part of his victim and was found not guilty by reason of insanity," the lawmakers said in a statement. "His victim's family raised objections about his release. What about THEM? Where is the justice for THEM? This terrible decision puts public safety in jeopardy and is yet another terrible message to send to CT violent crime victims and their families. This person should never be out. We are dumbfounded at this injustice. In what universe is this ok?"
In 2013, a three-judge panel found Smith not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2011 death of Angel Gonzalez. He was committed to Connecticut Valley Hospital for 60 years.
Smith confessed to killing the homeless man with an ax inside an abandoned home in Bridgeport before removing parts of his brain, an eye and several organs that he subsequently consumed at Lakeview Cemetery.
Gonzalez's sister-in-law, Talitha Frazier, called on the board to continue holding Smith inside the hospital.
"How do we really know he's not going to do this again?" Frazier asked at the hearing on Friday, according to CTPost. "He had no remorse for killing Angel."
"His grandkids are scared. His daughter is scared she couldn't come today, her sugar dropped to 52," she said, according to WFSB.
A diagnosed schizophrenic, Smith will first receive day passes but will be confined to the hospital's grounds. As he makes progress, he will receive additional freedoms, such as supervised off-site visits.
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