NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) - The defense lawyer for a former Rutgers University student charged with setting fire to a campus building says his clients suffers from mental illness.
NJ.com reports (https://bit.ly/2fjm4qY ) that William Fetky said during opening arguments of Shyam Sridhar’s trial Tuesday that he has a history of mental illness, including schizophrenia.
Sridhar is on trial on charges of attempted murder, aggravated arson and other trials.
Prosecutors say he set fire to a 30-foot section of hallway and classroom of a building at Rutgers’ Busch Campus in December 2014.
Authorities say he was trying to kill a student studying in the building, along with a professor and four proctors who were monitoring a test.
Sridhar’s psychiatrist says he’s not a danger to others as long as he takes his medication.
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Information from: NJ Advance Media.
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