Man Found Insane in Wife’s Strangling
A Point Loma man who was deemed insane at the time he strangled his elderly wife was committed Monday to a state mental hospital.
Wilmore McDowell, 59, was committed to Patton State Hospital by San Diego Superior Court Judge William Howatt for the July 30, 1990, death of his wife, Lucienne McDowell, 82.
Howatt determined that McDowell was insane when he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after the prosecution had rested its case in September in his trial.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Ron Mendes said McDowell was not given a set term for commitment. He said it would be up to the defendant to prove in court that he had regained his sanity before he could be released from the hospital.
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