| For Immediate Release June 28, 2006 |
Contact: | Farrah Emami Spokesperson (714) 347-8405 Office (714) 323-4486 Cell |
MAN FOUND GUILTY OF KILLING HIS MOTHER WITH A
BARBELL AND SCISSORS
*Jury also finds he was sane at the time of the crime
SANTA ANA – An Orange County jury found that the man charged with murdering his mother by stabbing her to death in her Huntington Beach apartment was sane at the time of his crime. Jamie Balint, 35, was found guilty of first degree murder last week for killing his mother, Pamela Balint, and now faces 28 years to life in prison. The defendant claimed insanity as his defense, but the jury concluded that he was both sane and understood the nature of his acts. Balint will be sentenced on September 29, 2006, at 9:00 a.m. in C40, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
Balint murdered his 55-year-old mother in her Huntington Beach apartment on December 22, 2003. He used a barbell to beat his mother over the head, and then murdered her by stabbing her with scissors and a vegetable peeler. Balint’s brother contacted police later that night after speaking with Jamie Balint and suspecting that he had done something to their mother. Police entered the apartment and found Pamela Balint murdered on the floor.
The trial was held in two phases, the guilt phase and the sanity phase. After Balint was found guilty of murder, a jury then considered evidence to determine if he was legally sane at the time of the crime. When a defendant pleads “not guilty by reason of insanity,” the burden is on the defense to prove that the defendant was more likely than not legally insane when he committed the crime. To be considered legally insane, the defense must prove that the defendant had a mental disease or defect when he committed the crime, and also that this defect kept the defendant from understanding the nature of his act or from understanding that his act was morally or legally wrong.
Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh of the Homicide Unit prosecuted this case.
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