The defense and state rested Thursday following Director of State Forensic Service Dr. Ann LeBlanc’s testimony in Kennebec County Superior Court that John A. Okie, 22, was not suffering from active psychosis when he murdered Alexandra “Aleigh” Mills and his father, John S. Okie in July 2007.
According to LeBlanc, based on the reports available from friends and family following the slayings that, “no one else noticed he [Okie] was mentally ill,” she said.
In LeBlanc’s estimation, there is no question Okie suffered a psychotic episode, which resulted in a hospitalization in 2004, but since that time his behavior was reported as overusing marijuana, alcohol, and “people said he was sluggish at the time.”
LeBlanc called Okie’s initial “break” in 2004 a schizophreniform incident, and said during her subsequent interviews related to the slayings, Okie was not considered as having “mental” problems by family and friends.
LeBlanc’s testimony came on the final day of the witness examinations, and was a recall witness for the state, questioned by Assistant Attorney General Andrew Benson. Benson’s questioning speaks to the state’s contention that Okie was not mentally incapacitated when he murdered Mills and his father, rather knew he what he was doing.