The voices tell me what to do

A man is alleged to have tried to strangle another man. The reason for the crime was a psychotic episode, during which the accused saw his victim as the devil.
 

It is rare for the prosecution and defence to want the same thing in a criminal trial. But this was the case in a trial heard on last Tuesday morning at the Zug Criminal Court (Strafgericht Zug). Even before the court date, it was clear that the defendant, Fabian B.*, was not criminally responsible. An expert had diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia and cannabis dependence in February 2024. The offence that was committed in October 2023, and which Fabian B. does not dispute, was the result of psychosis attributable to this mental disorder.

Fabian B., now 28, was accused of attempting to kill his roommate in a psychiatric clinic in the canton of Zug in October two years ago. According to the indictment, he instructed him to lie down on the bed in their shared room. He then pressed a pillow over his face for a few seconds, causing his roommate, who was physically weaker than him, to suffer mortal fear. Fabian B. finally let go of the victim of his own accord. In the indictment, this event results in the charge of attempted murder.

The world must be cleansed
Following an LSD trip, ‘Fabian B.’ has been repeatedly hearing voices. These were amplified by the consumption of cannabis, as he described in court. ‘They tell me what to do. I no longer think about myself, I’m like a tool or a robot that does everything it is told.’

On the day of the crime, a friend in the psychiatric clinic invited him to smoke a joint, and Fabian B. agreed. Shortly after consuming it, the voices returned: "They told me that there are evil and good people in the world, and that the evil ones must be wiped out by the good ones, a kind of cleansing. My roommate was the devil, and I had to start implementing the plan."

Last Tuesday morning, the Zug Criminal Court dealt with the case of a man who allegedly attempted to kill his neighbour                Photo: Stefan Kaiser

Fabian B. can no longer say whether these voices gave him instructions on exactly how to kill his roommate. But he describes the end of his psychosis as ‘waking up.’ It was as if he had returned to his own mind and regained control over his actions. ‘I realised that I was Fabian and didn't want to hurt anyone.’ And he thought: ‘If I kill him, I'll get life imprisonment.’ After the incident, he turned to the medical staff at the clinic, described what had happened and asked for help.

Fabian B. had already been admitted to inpatient treatment in April 2024. The public prosecutor's request to order the same treatment is therefore essentially a legal confirmation of the status quo. For the defendant, who according to the specialist staff has shown positive development during the early enforcement of the measure, it is clear that he wishes to remain in this setting for the time being. His solicitor therefore also supported the public prosecutor's request.

The criminal court's verdict will be issued in writing.

*Name changed by the editors.