Trending
WARREN -- A Southington man accused in the 2012 murder of his estranged wife will remain committed at Heartland Behavioral Healthcare in Massillon, where he has been since 2015.
Royce Honaker, 70, was committed to the mental hospital for life after being found not guilty by reason of insanity for killing Donna Honaker, his wife of 40 years, because he believed she was working with the FBI to poison him.
Honaker stabbed and then shot his wife twice after she delivered him food July 31, 2012. The couple had separated, but Donna continued to bring him food on a daily basis.
Following a one-day bench trial in 2015, Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Andrew Logan agreed with doctors that Honaker suffers from a paranoid delusional disorder.
Honaker is re-evaluated periodically to determine if he should be freed from the hospital.
The court received information from Dr. Syed Ahmed, chief clinical officer at Heartland Behavioral Healthcare on July 11, that includes a mandatory hearing report from Dr. Irina Korobkova. It states Honaker remains "… a mentally ill person," and should be subject to hospitalization.
"The court finds that the least restrictive commitment alternative available consistent with the welfare of the defendant and public safety remains commitment to Heartland Behavior Healthcare," Logan wrote in his opinion.
Honaker, who retired from the Ford Motor Co. in 2006, said he believed the FBI was after him because he acted as a bookie for an illegal lottery while at the company, Logan said.
Honaker told the story to sheriff's deputies who arrived at his house after he called 911.
He said he believed his wife was working with the FBI to poison him and had installed surveillance and security systems around the house.
He removed one system because he thought the FBI was altering the footage, and got a new system he was showing his wife when he killed her, Logan said.