Stories Related to Maine Man Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity For Setting Blaze That Nearly Killed His Longtime Girlfriend

A Corinth man who tried kill his domestic partner by setting fire to their home in January was delusional at the time, and found not guilty by reason of insanity Wednesday to one count each of attempted murder and arson. Moments after he accepted Fred Roberts’ plea of not criminally responsible by reason of insanity, Justice William Anderson signed an order to commit the 65-year-old to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services for an indefinite period of time. The fairly rare verdict acknowledges that Roberts committed the acts, but isn’t criminally responsible for them because of his mental state at the time.