BANGOR, Maine — A Superior Court judge will decide whether a local man diagnosed with a mental illness was legally sane or not when he beat his pregnant girlfriend in 2014 so badly that she now is blind.
Joshua Cole, 35, of Bangor does not deny that he attacked the 43-year-old woman, who now lives in Florida with her mother and her 16-month-old daughter, and the neighbor who tried to intervene on Aug. 18, 2014, in the hall of an Essex Street apartment house.
Cole, who has a history of mental illness and hospitalizations in Maine and other states, “had a break from reality that day,” defense attorney Hunter Tzovarras of Bangor told Superior Court Justice Bruce Mallonee on Wednesday during a jury-waived trial at the Penobscot Judicial Center.
The defendant, who is being held in the mental health section of the Maine Correctional Center in Windham, is charged with elevated aggravated assault on a pregnant person, a Class A crime, and aggravated assault, a Class B crime.
“He was out of his mind when he committed these acts, suffering from an acute mental illness, and he was not taking his medication,” Tzovarras said in his opening statement. “He was delusional, irrational and unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions.”
Penobscot County District Attorney R. Christopher Almy did not make an opening statement.
“The testimony of the neighbor and police officers demonstrated the gruesomeness of this whole incident, which is somewhat disturbing, given the injuries that were inflicted,” the prosecutor said after the daylong trial. “I think what was important from [the neighbor’s] testimony was to show that [Cole] had a goal, whether or not he was sane at the time was a different issue.
“I think it was clear that he had a goal,” Almy said. “ He was mad at his girlfriend for whatever reason. Somebody tried to interfere with his attack, and he then attacked the person that was trying to help his girlfriend. So, it tends to show his purposeful conduct and to show to some extent that he knew what he was doing.”
Legally, a person who engages in “purposeful conduct” is capable of knowing right from wrong and can be found to have been sane, Almy said.
Two psychologists testified for the defense that Cole suffered from a major psychiatric disorder most of his life and had abused drugs since his teenage years. Both said that Cole was delusional when he attacked his former girlfriend and his neighbor.
Exactly what led to the attack was unclear from testimony Wednesday, but Cole told police and the psychologists that the pregnant woman was not following her doctor’s instructions. The two met and became friends at local homeless shelters, according to testimony.
The neighbor and police testified that Cole was not speaking in English the night of Aug. 18, 2014, and did not respond to questions or commands.
In an interview with police, played in court Wednesday, Cole said that he was responsible for what had happened to his girlfriend the night before.
Cole did not take the stand in his own defense.
In response to a reporter’s question after the trial, Almy said that Cole’s case raised important issues about how the state deals with the mentally ill involved in the criminal justice system.
“This case is an example of people in our society who are significantly, psychiatrically sick, but are also dangerous,” Almy told reporters after the hearing. “Where do they belong? Do they belong in a mental hospital? Do they belong in a jail? Or, should they be allowed to walk around on the street? It’s an issue the governor and the Legislature have to deal with.”
There is no timetable under which Mallonee must issue his ruling.
If found not criminally responsible for the assaults, Cole would be confined to Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta until it is determined he no longer is a danger to others.
If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000 on the charge stemming from the assault on the pregnant woman and up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine on the charge connected to the assault on the neighbor.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence and would like to talk with an advocate, call 866-834-4357, TRS 800-787-3224. This free, confidential service is available 24/7 and is accessible from anywhere in Maine.