Man Believed His Pasadena, Landlord Was Warlock, Killed Him

Defendant found not criminally responsible for first-degree murder, will be sent to mental hospital

By Andrea F. Siegel, (The Baltimore Sun, 4/27/2011)

Neal Jesse Manning

A man who told police that he killed his landlord because he believed the homeowner was a warlock who was conjuring spells against him was found not criminally responsible Wednesday and will be placed in a state mental hospital.

Neal Jesse Manning, 41, had descended rapidly into mental illness before he killed Harry Allan Wagner just past midnight on Jan. 4, according to a state psychiatric evaluation. Wagner, a 57-year-old cargo company dispatcher, was on his living room couch in his Pasadena home watching television when Manning, who had rented a room in his house for less than a year, shot him with a handgun and shotgun. Manning then surrendered to police and has been taking anti-psychotic medications since his arrest.

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