A state judge suggested Monday that the fatal beating of an 85-year-old Aiea Heights woman by her 49-year-old grandson could have been avoided if hospital officials, the man’s family and his treating physician did what they were supposed to do.
The judge found Darrel David Wright, now 50, not guilty by reason of mental disease, disorder or defect in the death of Mary Sobrado.
The beating happened Dec. 16, 2009. Sobrado died from her injuries Jan. 23, 2010.
Circuit Judge Randal O. Lee said that just before the beating, Wright checked in to the Queen’s Medical Center because he was showing signs associated with his schizophrenia. He had stopped taking medication to control his condition.
Lee did not say whether Wright did so on his own or on orders from his physician.
Queen’s officials released Wright, and family took him home even though hospital staff and family members knew he wasn’t getting the proper level of medication for his condition, Lee said. Family members even reported the same behaviors that had previously resulted in Wright committing violence.
Wright’s treating physician, aware of the low level of his medication, decided not to recommit Wright to Queen’s.
"All of these missteps resulted in Mr. Wright’s unlawful conduct," Lee said.
Lee acquitted Wright of second-degree murder, but he committed him to the Hawaii State Hospital because he determined he poses a danger to himself and others.
From the beginning, Wright claimed responsibility for beating Sobrado.
Police said Wright called 911, told the operator he had just beaten his grandmother and asked for police assistance.
When a city ambulance crew arrived at his home, they found Wright standing over his grandmother, who was slumped in a reclining chair covered in blood. Police said Wright nodded when one of the emergency medical workers asked him whether he was responsible for Sobrado’s injuries, then pounded his fist into his open hand to demonstrate what he did.
