AUGUSTA — Kristian McKay, found not criminally responsible for the March 2007 stabbing death of his father, has won a judge’s permission to begin moving out of Riverview Psychiatric Center again.
McKay, 29, who was committed to the custody of the commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services in November 2007, had been living in a supervised apartment in Augusta and had up to 12 hours of unsupervised time in the community and time with his wife and children.
He was rehospitalized Jan. 13 after telling outpatient service providers he had used alcohol, prescription drugs and illegal drugs in December 2014.
McKay allegedly stole Xanax (a brand name for alprazolam, which is used to treat anxiety disorders) and Ritalin (a brand name for methylphenidate, which is used to treat attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder), allegedly belonging to his wife, and furnished those drugs to fellow Riverview outpatient William Bruce, who gave McKay “psilocybin” mushrooms in return, according to the prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Laura Yustak Smith.
McKay gave the pills away, according to a letter from Susan Fasulo, the mental health caseworker supervisor for the Riverview Outpatient Services Team responsible for supervising and treating McKay. The letter was sent to the court, to Smith and to the State Forensic Service, which evaluates people for the court.
Both McKay and Bruce were rehospitalized and had their privileges withdrawn.
Last week during a hearing at the Capital Judicial Center, McKay’s attorney, J. Mitchell Flick, asked that McKay be allowed to start the process of moving out of Riverview.
The move was supported by hospital personnel as well as by State Forensic Service Director Ann LeBlanc.
LeBlanc told Justice Robert Mullen that McKay should focus strongly on his intensive outpatient program, which will take up half a day.
“It’s not the time to begin to pursue a new job and education classes,” she testified.
LeBlanc suggested a curfew of 9 p.m. and limiting his movements to a 20-mile radius.
Riverview had sent McKay — with court permission — to a long-term residential substance abuse program in July.
However, program administrators said the conditions outlined in that court order prevented McKay from participating fully in the program, so he was discharged Aug. 19 and returned to Riverview.
Dr. Michele Toth, a Riverview psychiatrist, told Mullen she agreed that McKay needs to focus on his outpatient program and then should move gradually into taking a class and maybe working part time.
Smith said she did not object to McKay’s moving from the hospital to a supervised living situation, but wanted strict controls in place.
Betty Adams — 621-5631
Twitter: @betadams
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.