News-Times Whidbey
LIVING: Poet Laureate brings art to island. A13
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2012 | Vol. 113, No. 84 | www.whidbeynewstimes.com | 75¢
Neighbors aren’t repelled by sewer plan next door
Did ‘voices’ drive him to kill? Accused murderer Joshua D. Lambert claims insanity, as prosecutors scoff By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter
J
oshua David Lambert woke in the North Whidbey woods with voices screaming in his head. Cruel, taunting FBI agents were threatening to kidnap and kill his teenage son. He searched the dark woods in a panic for a shotgun he had stolen from his stepfather the day before, but couldn’t find it. He was convinced that the agents had stolen it. He needed a gun. He needed to stop the men. He needed — he now says, from his cell in the Island County Jail — to kill them. Lambert hurried to his grandfather’s home, where he knew there would be guns, and found 80-yearold George Lambert inside. The elderly man wouldn’t give him any firearms, but Lambert was going to take them anyway. The problem was that the grandfather “wouldn’t tie up,” as Lambert later explained to court psychiatrists. So he stabbed his grandfather once, decided it was too late to stop, and slashed him some more. Lambert beat him until the old man’s eyes looked dead. Then his grandfather’s sister, Kay Gage, was there. Lambert hit the elderly woman over the head and tied her up with packing tape, leaving her on the floor to watch her brother’s breathing slow to silence while Lambert ransacked the house. Failing to find guns, Lambert drove to his mother’s home a few miles away. The only person home was his other grandfather, 80-yearold August “Sonny” Eisner. He allegedly stabbed and slashed
By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter
In an unusual twist, several residents of a waterfront neighborhood did not complain about a revelation that Oak Harbor officials are looking at building a $93.5-million sewage treatment plant in their backyard. In fact, they urged the city to investigate the possibility. Tuesday night, the Oak Harbor City Council approved an amendment to a contract with Carollo Engineers, a consulting firm, for field investigation of several sites in the vicinity of Windjammer Park, the city’s large waterfront park. One of the sites that will be looked at is a large tract of undeveloped property on Beeksma Drive, next to the Dillard’s Addition neighborhood. The property had been thrown out of consideration early in the process of finding a site, for an unclear reason, but is back in contention after owner Carl Freund called the mayor and proposed that the land would be a good fit. Two residents of Dillard’s Addition, both of whom are known for being outspoken on a separate sewage-related issue, spoke at the meeting in favor of exploring the possibility. Duane Dillard said he’s not against the idea, though he needs to
Jessie Stensland/Whidbey News-Times
Joshua Lambert is acting as his own attorney and asserting an insanity defense. He claims he’s schizophrenic and voices tricked him into killing his two grandfathers on North Whidbey last October. until Eisner too was dead. Lambert, now jailed and awaiting trial in Island County Superior Court, described to psychiatrists and a News-Times reporter a delusional, hallucinatory state that he claims led him to commit the double murder of his two grandfathers on North Whidbey last October — allegations he does not contest. The 31-year-old high school dropout is acting as his own attorney. He claims he’s schizophrenic, and therefore not guilty by reason of insanity. Psychiatrists at Western State Hospital, however, believe that Lambert’s only mental illness is an anti-social disorder characterized by a lack of empathy and disregard for rules. They concluded that his delusions, if real, were caused by drug use, likely from injecting methamphetamine. Jurors will have to weigh the evidence from both sides during
what will be a one-of-a-kind trial scheduled for November.
Courtroom outbursts So far, Lambert has had some trouble comprehending the technicalities of courtroom procedure and has expressed concerns about the trustworthiness of many involved in the case, including his own expert witnesses. His frustrations have resulted in some courtroom outbursts. When Judge Vickie Churchill ruled that one of Lambert’s voluminous motions was frivolous, he yelled, “You’re frivolous!” He later asked her sarcastically whether she realizes that it’s a murder case. The judge assigned a standby attorney for the case, but Lambert insists on handling everything himself and has even tried to get the attorney, Peter Simpson of Coupeville, fired. He also made
a motion, unsuccessfully, to have Simpson turn over his notes to him. Lambert has repeatedly claimed in court documents that Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks is trying to “frame (him) for sanity.” At the same time, he has been busy collecting evidence, studying the law and psychology, and making his case. He has two cells in the jail to hold all his materials. He’s successfully petitioned the court to get a laptop computer and a digital recording device. He has his own experts, including a private investigator and a psychologist. Lambert claims that a Seattle psychologist diagnosed him as being schizophrenic with longterm delusions and non-substanceabuse episodes.
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See LAMBERT, A12
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