Mental facility patient who killed roommate at hospital acquitted of charges due to mental illness

A man who killed his roommate at a mental facility in St. Peter in January has been acquitted due to mental illness, according to court filings in Nicollet County Court.

David Michael Otey, 43, was acquitted of second-degree unintentional murder, first-degree assault, second-degree assault and fourth-degree assault. The reason given for the acquittals was mental illness.

A judge previously dismissed a charge of second-degree intentional murder against Otey, stating that the evidence didn’t prove he intended to kill his roommate, Abdirashid Mohamed Hussein.

“When Defendant approached staff, he did not tell them that he killed Mr. Hussein,” the order states. “He stated that he had hit Mr. Hussein that Mr. Hussein was injured, and that staff should check on Mr. Hussein. It does not appear that Defendant desired for Mr. Hussein to die. The evidence thus does not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Defendant intended to cause the death of Mr. Hussein.”

The court order to dismiss the intentional murder charge confirmed that Otey was committed to the Forensic Mental Health Program in St. Peter by the Crow Wing County District Court after he killed his sister in 2018. The program works to treat people who have been civilly committed as mentally ill and dangerous.

As previously reported, the attack against Hussein occurred around 1 a.m. on New Year’s Day.

First responders who were called to the facility were told that staff members were locked in an office and that one was hurt. Officers found Otey pacing in the hallway and were able to calm him down and handcuff him.

Court documents state that Hussein was found with “obvious trauma to his head and face,” and had a “significant” amount of blood pooling around him. He was taken to a hospital but later died.

Staff members told police that Otey walked out of his room and eventually walked up to the staff desk and said someone should check on his roommate because he’d bashed him with a guitar. When staff members started responding to his room, Otey began choking a staff member.

Other staff intervened and locked themselves in an office until police arrived.

A court order for the acquittals states that Otey’s parents told investigators that he had a good relationship with Hussein and spoke highly of him.

Otey also reportedly told two doctors who were doing an examination on him for the case that after playing a video game, he went back to his room and had an urge to hit Hussein with his guitar. He also told the doctors that he thought Hussein was immortal, court documents state.

Otey also displayed behavior at the jail that “suggest serious mental health symptoms and, very likely, clinical mania,” the order reads.

The court ordered Otey to return to the mental facility once it is determined safe for him to do so.