Lawyer on trial for girlfriend's murder blames his parents, 'intermittent explosive disorder'
Attorney Jason Bohn doesn’t dispute that he killed his girlfriend, Danielle Thomas, who was beaten and strangled to death nearly two years ago at their New York City apartment.
However, hoping that the jury in his murder trial will see the case as manslaughter rather than a murder, the 35-year-old University of Florida law graduate is presenting defense testimony about his troubled childhood and “intermittent explosive disorder,” according to Good Morning America.
In testimony that stunned courtroom observers Thursday, a defense expert said one example of Bohn’s IED was the miscarriage he caused 21 years ago, when he was 14 and in foster care, by punching a pregnant 18-year-old in the stomach, the New York Post reported. Bohn was not charged in the incident but continued with the psychiatric treatment he was already receiving.
Dr. Alexander Sasha Bardey, a forensic psychiatrist, also told the jury that Bohn’s IED explains why he didn’t remember either punching the 18-year-old woman or the slaying of his 27-year-old girlfriend. Bardey said Bohn’s condition was triggered by being abandoned by his mother, abused by his father and put into foster care.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Law Grad Arrested in Beaten Ex-Girlfriend’s Murder; Prosecutor Says Note Apologized for ‘Accident’”
ABAJournal.com: “Report: Voicemail recording of woman being strangled will be in evidence at law grad’s murder trial”
