A man has been found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect for killing his former girlfriend and a man in August 2013.
Though the Erie County DA says 32-year-old Michael Moore has no history of psychiatric issues, a judge ruled Monday that Moore was legally insane when he shot and killed 30-year-old Kayla Humphries, the mother of his two children, in her North Buffalo apartment and then shot and killed 30-year-old Darrell Bailey two hours later on Bailey Avenue.
Prosecutors say their expert, Dr. Gary Horwitz, testified that Moore was under the influence of cocaine at the time of the murders, but not insane. The judge was critical of this opinion, even though the DA says Moore has a 10-year history of cocaine dependency, was on probation at the time of the murders for felony cocaine possession and cocaine was found in Moore’s constructive possession at the time of his arrest.
Moore was found not guilty of two counts of second degree murder by way of insanity during a bench trial, which means the trial was conducted before a judge instead of a jury.
