WAUPACA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A jury determined Jordan Peters suffered from a mental disease when he killed his mother, and he was committed to a secure psychiatric facility.
Peters stabbed his mother, Angela Zahn, on Sept. 4, 2023, inside a vehicle in Clintonville.
Last week, a Waupaca County jury convicted him of first-degree intentional homicide. However, due to the not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect plea, the same jury then had to consider if Peters suffered from a mental condition at the time of the crime, and if that prevented him from determining right from wrong.
After about 3 1/2 hours of deliberations Monday night, the jury found Peters indeed suffered from a mental condition. Instead of a mandatory life prison term, Judge Vicki Clussman committed him to the Department of Health Services for life, court records show.
According to the criminal complaint, the now 20-year-old Peters was 19 when he stabbed his 39-year-old mother in a car. She later died.
“During the interview when asked about what happened Jordan stated “I guess I got really angry and was thinking about the past and got to that breaking point and just stabbed her”. Officers asked Jordan why he had the knife with him today and Jordan stated “because I had plans to hurt (Zahn).” Jordan went on to tell investigators that he had wanted to kill (Zahn) for the last year and had begun planning it over the last week,” the complaint states.
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