Frankie Duzant Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity

Franklyn "Frankie" Duzant, 42, was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the slayings of his wife and son in June 2006.

(RED HUBER, ORLANDO SENTINEL / February 27, 2008)

Seminole man who hacked wife, son to death with sword found not guilty by reason of insanity

Amy L. Edwards Sentinel Staff Writer
February 28, 2008

SANFORD - The Seminole County man who hacked his 11-year-old son and wife to death with a sword was declared not guilty by reason of insanity on Wednesday and ordered to be sent to a secure mental hospital.

Circuit Judge Donna McIntosh ruled that Franklyn "Frankie" Duzant, 42, must be confined for public safety but is too mentally ill to be held legally responsible for the killings in 2006. She described him as "manifestly dangerous to himself and to others."Duzant, who had agreed to forgo a jury trial, was expressionless during the hourlong hearing, wearing a jumpsuit and handcuffs. Other than answering the judge's questions with a "Yes, ma'am," he said nothing.

The disabled Army veteran beheaded wife Evangeline "Gigi" Duzant inside their Lake Mary-area home on June 16, 2006. Neighbors then watched in horror as Duzant's son, Nico, ran frantically out of the house to escape his father.

As Nico ran across the street toward neighbors, Duzant caught up with the boy and slashed him to death with a sword. It was Nico's birthday.

Four mental-health experts -- two hired by the state and two for the defense -- agreed that Duzant was hallucinating and insane when he killed his family.

After his arrest, Duzant told psychologists and psychiatrists he thought his wife was going to be kidnapped, taken to West Virginia and raped. Duzant also thought attackers planned to abduct and torture Nico.

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Readers of my other blog, Screaming In An Empty Room at www.namguardianangel.blogspot.com are aware of this story. This is justice. He is a Gulf War vet and yes, they developed PTSD along with a lot of other issues you never seem to hear about. For more on this story, go to the other blog and search his name. There's about four other stories on this there.