WINCHESTER, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Jeffrey Yao was found not guilty by reason of insanity in Middlesex Superior Court on Wednesday for stabbing a 22-year-old woman.
Deane Stryker was killed at the Winchester Public Library in 2018. She was a medical student at the University of New England.
Prosecutors said Yao, who was 23 at the time, stabbed Stryker and an elderly man who tried to help her. The man was hurt, but survived.
After being examined by three different medical experts, Yao was deemed mentally ill during his attack inside the library and could not be held criminally responsible.
This verdict means that Yao will face hospitalization at Bridgewater State Hospital with the legal requirement to check his mental status annually.
There was no jury, only a judge, during Wednesday’s trial.
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