Gerald Wassenaar, wife killer, found not guilty due to mental illness

On the November 2009 day his wife died, the 67-year-old told police and staff at Regions Hospital that he had killed her. He seemed to feel pretty badly about it. Now, he's been found not guilty of her murder due to his mental illness.

Wassenaar was on trial for second-degree murder, but was found not guilty yesterday, according to several local reports. The PiPress reported that Wassenaar suffers from bipolar disorder and alcohol abuse.

Police found Gerald Wassenaar sitting in his stalled car near Lake Elmo last November. Wassenaar was in a disoriented state. Police took him back to his home on Barclay Street in St. Paul, but he wouldn't go inside. Police found Wassenaar's wife, 67-year-old Jean Andrine Wassenaar, dead inside the home.

When Wassenaar was taken to Regions, staff asked him if he felt like hurting himself. "C'mon, I killed my wife. What do you think?" he responded.