A Michigan man who was charged for murdering his wife last year entered a plea of not guilty by a reason of insanity after he said QAnon members told him to kill his wife, according to a report.
Troy Burke, 45, told investigators that he had a neuro-link implanted in his brain and he received messages on his tablet from the members of the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory group, saying his wife was a CIA operative, involved in a sex trafficking ring, reportedThe Morning Sun.
Burke pleaded guilty to killing his wife, Jessica Burke, 29, by shooting her three times on 27 January 2021 in their Elwell home.
He was allowed to make a rare plea of not guilty by reason of insanity after he underwent a psychology exam by forensic experts who found that he was not criminally responsible for his actions at the time of the murder.
He was ordered to undergo a second independent psychiatric evaluation and the results “came to the same conclusion”, according to Gratiot County Prosecutor Keith Kushion.
Mr Kushion said he believed that people could read his thoughts and even said he believed that his wife was the son of president Joe Biden who had a sex change operation.
Attorney Sarah Huyser, who is representing Burke said: "He believed them. They may sound illogical to us. They may, when we hear them, we are thinking that’s crazy for the lack of a better way to say that, but imagine being in the mindset where all of that is very real and very scary.”
He has been ordered to undergo additional tests at the Michigan Centre for Forensic Psychiatry in Ypsilanti which will continue for up to 60 days before the final verdict will be delivered.
