PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — A central Illinois man accused of beating his grandmother to death with a hammer has been found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2022 slaying.
Cody A. Krause, 29, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Glenda Rusterholz, 73. Investigators said her skull and face were crushed when she was beaten with a hammer in her Peoria home in April 2022.
The Peoria County state’s attorney’s office said in a news release that following a stipulated bench trial, a Peoria County judge found Krause not guilty by reason of insanity last week, the Peoria Journal Star reported.
The judge’s verdict means the Peoria County man “lacked substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct” when the crime occurred, the release states.
At the judge’s direction, Krause, who was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type, is being treated in the custody of the state.
“The outcome is that rather than being housed in jail, he will be detained in a mental health facility under the custody of the Department of Human Services to receive treatment,” according to the news release.
Krause told officers that voices he heard in his head stopped after his grandmother died. He also told them it would be best if all of his family were dead.
Krause would have faced from 20 years in prison to a possible life sentence if he was convicted of first-degree murder.
