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TAMPA, Fla. (FOX 13) - John Jonchuck was lying about his symptoms according to one of the prosecution’s expert witnesses.
Dr. Emily Lazrou is now the prosecution's second expert witness to take the stand.
Whether she would testify was in question before the trial. Defense attorneys said Lazarou was biased and coercive when she questioned of Jonchuck. They wanted her off the case, but a judge disagreed and ruled a jury will decide the credibility of her testimony.
That testimony was different than a lot of what has been said on the stand, so far. Her diagnosis stands in stark contrast to the other expert witnesses.
She believes Jonchuck is faking some of his symptoms and that they don’t match what she knows as a psychiatrist.
Unlike other experts, Dr. Lazarou didn’t diagnose Jonchuck with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, not even bipolar disorder.
She believes he has traits consistent with psychopathy. Basically, she thinks he’s a psychopath, which is the most severe form of anti-social personality disorder, and that was the driving force behind killing Phoebe.
“You don’t go from God to archangel to the devil to a demon to the Pope,” Lazarou said, putting her flattened hand high in the air, then back down again with each description. “In a very short period of time like that - even in a long period of time – psychotic symptoms don’t work like that. It doesn’t change like that all the time. But people that think psychotic symptoms; when you fake that’s what it looks like,” Lazarou said.
Prosecution: Do you believe the defendant was malingering mental illness on the date of offense and thereafter?
Lazarou: Yes, I do.
Prosecution: Do you believe he was insane on the date of the murder?
Lazarou: No, I don't.
The word psychopath is not something the jury will hear in the case because the judge ruled, early on, the word is too prejudicial and is not a medical diagnosis.
If she could say 'psychopath,' Dr. Lazarou has said in the past she would.
Previous coverage:
-Psychologist: If Jonchuck was insane, he would have died with Phoebe
-Jonchuck tells court he will not testify in his own defense
-Jonchuck defense rests, making way for prosecution rebuttal
-Trial resumes as Jonchuck again deemed competent
-Jonchuck murder trial pauses for psychological evaluation
-Forensic psychologist: When Jonchuck killed Phoebe, he was insane
-Concerned about his behavior, former Jonchuck lawyer called 911 hours before Phoebe's death
-Prosecutors rest case against John Jonchuck
-Jonchuck trial moves into its second day
-Sanity a key question as Jonchuck jury selection enters day 3