Post by CCADP on Aug 16, 2005 7:44:55 GMT -5
Meds stopped before slayings
Aunt: Man charged in deaths was taken off anti-psychotic drugs
By Chris Pryor
Phoenix Staff Writer
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The man charged in the shooting death of a Etta Bend couple had been taken off an anti-psychotic medicine days before the shooting, his aunt said.
Johnny Keith Potts, 21, has been charged with first-degree murder of William "Junior" Ryals and Elsie Ryals, who were found shot to death July 26. Potts could face the death penalty if convicted.
Felicia Davis said her nephew had been taking Haldol - a drug used to treat schizophrenia - for about a year. Potts was living with Davis when the Ryals couple were shot.
"You couldn't ask for a better, polite kid," Davis said. "And then when they took him off that medicine, I seen it in his eyes where something was going to happen."
A Cherokee County judge on Monday set a competency hearing for Oct. 5 to determine whether Potts is capable to stand trial.
Cherokee County authorities did not return messages for comment on Potts' mental state.
William, 74, and Elsie Ryals, 65, had driven from their home to feed animals at a wooded acreage they owned southeast of Tahlequah, which was next door to the house where Potts lived.
At about 8 a.m., William Ryals was shot once in the chest. His wife, Elsie Ryals, ran toward Potts' house - not knowing who was shooting at them - and was found shot in the head near the house's porch.
Potts was arrested after Davis called 911. During the call, Potts talked to the operator and said he acted out of self-defense, according to court records.
"Johnny is a wonderful, wonderful kid," Davis said. "Something just snapped in his head, and he did this for no reason whatsoever."
Potts had received treatment at the Bill Willis Mental Health Center in Tahlequah, Davis said.
A spokeswoman at the Willis center would not comment on whether Potts had been treated there.
Potts began receiving treatment for mental disorders and was prescribed Haldol after his grandfather, who Potts lived with while growing up, died a year ago, said Sandra Gable, another of Potts' aunts.
"He'd been having some problems ever since his grandpa died," Gable said. "He'd be sitting and just laugh and be talking to people and there wasn't people there."
Potts moved in with Davis after his grandfather died. Davis said she once caught Potts tearing up flowers in her garden.
"I said 'Son, why are you doing that?'"
"He said, 'I don't know, they tell me to do it.'"
"Who told you to do that?"
"He said, 'Voices in my head.'"
Haldol is used to treat patients with schizophrenia who suffer from delusions and hallucinations, said Sandy Dismukes, a pharmacist at Norman Regional Hospital.
Schizophrenics can suffer from violent delusions and believe they are being persecuted by authority figures, Dismukes said. There is no cure for schizophrenia, but it can be treated medically, she said.
"They see things that we don't see," Dismukes said. "They hear things that we don't hear, and they smell things that we don't smell."
Haldol can sometimes cause the patient to lose muscle control, causing Parkinson's disease-like symptoms, Dismukes said.
Potts was taken off Haldol July 15 - 11 days before the shooting - out of fear that the Parkinson's-like symptoms could appear, Davis said.
You can reach reporter Chris Pryor at 684-2903 or cpryor@muskogeephoenix.com.
Originally published August 16, 2005
Aunt: Man charged in deaths was taken off anti-psychotic drugs
By Chris Pryor
Phoenix Staff Writer
ADVERTISEMENT
The man charged in the shooting death of a Etta Bend couple had been taken off an anti-psychotic medicine days before the shooting, his aunt said.
Johnny Keith Potts, 21, has been charged with first-degree murder of William "Junior" Ryals and Elsie Ryals, who were found shot to death July 26. Potts could face the death penalty if convicted.
Felicia Davis said her nephew had been taking Haldol - a drug used to treat schizophrenia - for about a year. Potts was living with Davis when the Ryals couple were shot.
"You couldn't ask for a better, polite kid," Davis said. "And then when they took him off that medicine, I seen it in his eyes where something was going to happen."
A Cherokee County judge on Monday set a competency hearing for Oct. 5 to determine whether Potts is capable to stand trial.
Cherokee County authorities did not return messages for comment on Potts' mental state.
William, 74, and Elsie Ryals, 65, had driven from their home to feed animals at a wooded acreage they owned southeast of Tahlequah, which was next door to the house where Potts lived.
At about 8 a.m., William Ryals was shot once in the chest. His wife, Elsie Ryals, ran toward Potts' house - not knowing who was shooting at them - and was found shot in the head near the house's porch.
Potts was arrested after Davis called 911. During the call, Potts talked to the operator and said he acted out of self-defense, according to court records.
"Johnny is a wonderful, wonderful kid," Davis said. "Something just snapped in his head, and he did this for no reason whatsoever."
Potts had received treatment at the Bill Willis Mental Health Center in Tahlequah, Davis said.
A spokeswoman at the Willis center would not comment on whether Potts had been treated there.
Potts began receiving treatment for mental disorders and was prescribed Haldol after his grandfather, who Potts lived with while growing up, died a year ago, said Sandra Gable, another of Potts' aunts.
"He'd been having some problems ever since his grandpa died," Gable said. "He'd be sitting and just laugh and be talking to people and there wasn't people there."
Potts moved in with Davis after his grandfather died. Davis said she once caught Potts tearing up flowers in her garden.
"I said 'Son, why are you doing that?'"
"He said, 'I don't know, they tell me to do it.'"
"Who told you to do that?"
"He said, 'Voices in my head.'"
Haldol is used to treat patients with schizophrenia who suffer from delusions and hallucinations, said Sandy Dismukes, a pharmacist at Norman Regional Hospital.
Schizophrenics can suffer from violent delusions and believe they are being persecuted by authority figures, Dismukes said. There is no cure for schizophrenia, but it can be treated medically, she said.
"They see things that we don't see," Dismukes said. "They hear things that we don't hear, and they smell things that we don't smell."
Haldol can sometimes cause the patient to lose muscle control, causing Parkinson's disease-like symptoms, Dismukes said.
Potts was taken off Haldol July 15 - 11 days before the shooting - out of fear that the Parkinson's-like symptoms could appear, Davis said.
You can reach reporter Chris Pryor at 684-2903 or cpryor@muskogeephoenix.com.
Originally published August 16, 2005